Originally posted 6/26/20
Could 2020 really be a blessing? Perhaps 2020 is the year when we have the opportunity to really focus our attention on what matters. I don’t know about you, but I feel like we are in a worldwide wilderness experience this year. Here’s the good news, amazing things happen when the time in the wilderness is over.
When I think about a time of wilderness, I think of the 40 years the Israelites were in the wilderness. Just think, if you were born that first year, you would be 40 years old by the time the wilderness period was over. Think about wandering around aimlessly for your whole life. You didn’t just walk around all day everyday, but neither did you stay in one place for very long. God would move when it was time to move, and stay when it was time to stay.
You are now 40 years old, and it’s time to take the land the LORD has promised. Aren’t you excited, but so scared all at once? You are excited because you have been hearing stories about this Promised Land all your life. Your parents have told you how they used to be slaves in Egypt, and how they were treated so terribly. Then the LORD told our leader, Moses, to demand that Pharaoh let God’s people go. You’ve been told how Pharoah would say no time and time again, and the LORD would send plagues. You heard about all the frogs and gnats and locusts coming in so thick there was no place you could see that didn’t have them, and the awful smells that come with each plague. You also heard about how the LORD parted the Red Sea so that your parents could leave once and for all. You’ve listened to all the stories about the great works the LORD has done over the past 40 years. You’ve even seen some miracles yourself. You’ve seen how everyday except the Sabbath day you are given Mana to eat, and you are reminded that the LORD always provides for his people.
It is now time for the wilderness season to be over and for you and all your family to finally enter into the Promised Land. There is only one, giant, problem. People are already living there, and now you all must fight to take the land that God has promised. The first people are from Jericho, and they look intimidating. For one thing the whole city is surrounded by huge walls. These aren’t just walls to separate the city from the rest of the world, but in fact these walls are so thick that people live inside the wall. Imagine walls so thick that you could fit an apartment complex inside. Crazy, right!
What does the LORD tell your new leader, Joshua, to do to defeat this stronghold? Walk around the city once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day. Then when you are hot and tired of walking, you are supposed to shout when Joshua gives the signal. You may be thinking, how will walking around this city and shouting do anything? Aren’t we wasting our time? Regardless, you must obey your leader, so you walk and walk and walk. Then the moment comes when Joshua gives the signal to shout. You start shouting, but let’s be honest, you aren’t really giving it your all. You are simply just doing the bare minimum. Then you notice that the walls start to shake a little. Seeing this makes you get more excited so you put a little more effort into your shouting. As you stand there shouting, you notice that now the walls aren’t just shaking but you start to see pieces of the wall bust apart and fall to the ground. This really gets you excited and you give your best shout yet, and it is at that moment that the walls all crumple to the ground. You can’t believe your eyes, and shout for joy at the miracle you just witnessed. (Check out Joshua 6)
Now you know without a doubt that this God that you have heard about all your life really is powerful, and really can do impossible things. Only the one true God could bring those walls down the way you just witnessed it happening. You simply had to obey, and let God fight your battle for you.
Over the next several years, you will see God fight battle after battle for you and your family. You will also experience what happens when God doesn’t fight for you because he never told you to fight. Let’s just say those times don’t go very well!
Yes, we may be in a wilderness time, but amazing things happen after the wilderness. I’ve said this before, and I’ll keep saying it, I believe that a HUGE revival is coming. I believe that it will start with the church as a whole. Christians need to see themselves like God does and truly understand their value and the power that has been given to them by God himself. We are not victims any longer. We don’t have to wait to die to experience eternal life. Just like Paul declared all those years ago, You are more than conquerors. (Rom. 8:37) Declare that over yourself when you feel like the circumstances of this world have conquered you. You are more than a conqueror! Will you take a hold of that truth?
Recent Comments