40 years in the wilderness
And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness (Num. 14:33 KJV).
The Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness, before entering the promised land. God intended for their time in the wilderness to be much shorter, but after the 12 spies returned with an evil report, the Israelites complained, grumbled, and rebelled. The Israelites did not believe God was able to lead them into the promised land, so they decided to return to Egypt. The Lord then made them wander in the desert, until all the adults who had sinned against the Lord, died in the wildness.
Please understand this truth: the wilderness was not God’s original will for the people. It was His Plan B in response to their unbelief, obstinance, and rebellion.
Many of us endure wilderness experiences that are not God’s original plan for our lives. I have heard stories of precious saints who lived outside the will of God by choosing the temptations and gratifications of the world, rather than following the blessings of His instructions in the Word. They endured many hardships as they wandered through the deserts in their lives, clouded by the delusion that this was the Lord’s curriculum to teach them a lesson. We must apply our understanding of this philosophy with caution. God will never teach us a lesson by leading us out of His will, and into sin. When we choose to go off track, and stick with our own ideas, God then implements His Plan B, which may include a wilderness, to teach us a lesson. Why endure a wilderness that was not initially intended for you?
MEDITATE
Do you face challenges that make you grumble, complain, and rebel, just as the Israelites did?
APPLY THE WORD
God will keep you in the wilderness for as long as it takes for you to learn to yield to Him. The earlier you yield, the better. God has spent many years patiently waiting for you. What does He need you to do, or stop doing?
PRAY
Pray that the Lord will help you follow His will for your life, and prevent unnecessary wilderness experiences.
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