LTM Podcast

There is a special highway winding through your wilderness. All you must do is follow it to reach your destiny: The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness ; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. (Isaiah 35:1-8)

Could it be that the desert is actually a time of spiritual refreshment? Jesus often withdrew to the desert for rest, and He admonished His disciples to do so also: And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. (Mark 6:31-32) It was in the wilderness that the prophet Elijah, tired and discouraged, received supernatural refreshment:.

Israel had no map to guide them in the desert. They had no GPS system. They were wandering in a trackless wilderness where there were no highways or trail markers. In this barren land, God gave them supernatural guidance: And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire , to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. (Exodus 13:20-22)

Israel had no map to guide them in the desert. They had no GPS system. They were wandering in a trackless wilderness where there were no highways or trail markers. In this barren land, God gave them supernatural guidance: And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire , to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. (Exodus 13:20-22)

In the natural world, as you travel through a desert, there are many perils to avoid. The same is true of wilderness experiences in the spiritual world. When you do not understand what is going on in your life--when you feel alone and confused about which direction to go--there are many perils to which you may fall victim. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. From the example of Israel and their wilderness wanderings, we can learn the attitudes to avoid.

Water. This is the greatest need in the wilderness. Barren, dry, hot--and without water, you will perish. The same is true in the spiritual deserts of life. While navigating through times of difficulty, we often think we will die of spiritual thirst. But the psalmist declared: "He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings" (Psalm 107:33-35). It was at a well in the desert area of Samaria that Jesus met the women whose story is recorded in John 4. She had come to draw water to quench her physcial thirst, but Jesus saw her greater need for spiritual water. He declared: "...Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:13-14).

It was in the barren wilderness that Israel learned to trust God for supernatural provision. Whether it was the initial wilderness journey preparing them to enter the promised land, or the forty year trek experienced as chastisement for their rebellion--God provided for them. The Word records that their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet outgrow their shoes during all those years (Deuteronomy 8:4). God prepared a table for them in the wilderness (Psalm 78:19), providing both water and manna for food (Exodus 16:32).

Moses warned the children of Israel not to forget...."the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions" (Deuteronomy 8:14-15). There are several analogies that can be drawn from snakes and scorpions and applied spiritually.

The remainder of the Israelites stood in the door of their tents and watched them. God wants to reveal Himself to you in the midst of your wilderness. Will you enter into that revelation or simply worship from afar? The greatest revelation God wants to give you is of Himself. Coming to know Him more intimately is a major purpose of the wilderness experience. That I may know him , and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. (Philippians 3:10)

He just couldn’t take it anymore. Moses saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite and it was literally the last straw. When he witnessed this violent scene, he responded in anger and killed the Egyptian taskmaster. Then, knowing his life was in danger, Moses fled to the backside of the desert. As you learned in series 5 devotions, for forty long years Moses lived with the memory of an aborted destiny. He had tried, and failed. Would God ever use him again? Have you been there? Are you there right now? You tried to step out and do what God called you to do, only to fail. Have you, like Moses, retreated to the desert to nurse your wounds?

It began in a waterless pit in the wilderness. A young man named Joseph--who was to be a father of the nation of Israel--was cast into the pit by his own brothers because of their jealousy (Genesis 37:22-24). Even though Joseph cried out to them appealing for help, they would not listen (Genesis 42:21). Have you ever been in a wilderness pit like that spiritually? You are crying out, but no one seems to hear or care? When an Egyptian caravan passed by, Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. Then Joseph suffered another great setback when he was falsely accused of immorality and thrown into prison. Talk about a wilderness experience--prison certainly qualifies as one! In prison, Joseph was placed in a position of responsibility and ministered to a butler and baker who were confined with him, both of whom promptly forgot their promises to him (Genesis 39-40).

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The story records how God supernaturally intervened, revealing that this was a test of Abraham's faith and obedience: "And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me" (Genesis 22:12). All of the promises of God rested in Isaac, yet Abraham was willing to sacrifice him. He knew that the One who gave the vision was greater than the vision itself and, if necessary, He could raise Isaac from the dead to make it come to pass. Abraham referred to this as an act of worship, saying "I and the lad will go yonder and worship." There, on the lonely desert mountain, Abraham rose to a new level of worship. By his willingness to sacrifice his only son, he confirmed that God was more important to him than anything or anyone.

One of the first references to a profound spiritual experience in the wilderness is recorded in Genesis chapter 16. It happened to a young girl named Hagar who was a handmaiden to Sarai, Abram's wife. Because Abram and Sarai were unable to bear children, they decided for Abram to bear a child by Hagar. This was an acceptable custom of the day, but not acceptable to God. When Hagar learned she was pregnant, the tension grew between her and Sarai to the point that Hagar fled into the desert. There, the Angel of the Lord found her alone and distraught. The Angel of the Lord told Hagar to return to her mistress and that her seed--the generations from her son--would be greatly multiplied. This was fulfilled through Ishmael, the child she would later bear: So she called the name of the Lord Who spoke to her, You are a God of seeing, for she said, Have I [not] even here [in the wilderness] looked upon Him Who sees me [and lived]? Or have I here also seen [the future purposes or designs of] Him Who sees me? Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi [A well to the Living one Who sees me]; it is between Kadesh and Bered. (Genesis 16:13-14) AMP)

God is a God of purpose. He does nothing and allows nothing to happen in your life without divine purpose: This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? (Isaiah 14:26-27) We are called according to God's purpose (Romans 8:28). Every purpose of God is directed towards fulfilling His will (Ephesians 1:11). Jesus was sent to earth for divine purpose: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8).

In a trackless desert, there are no road signs. There are no footprints to follow. There is only emptiness and silence. A harsh environment. But where you are right now is essential to where you are going. The howling wind blows across the hot desert floor, so strongly at times that it can pit vehicle windshields and take the paint right off the body of a car. But do not let the blowing sand get in your eyes spiritually. Ask God to help you clearly see the reasons for your desert experience.

Because of disobedience, the nation of Israel was turned back from the border of their promised land to wander in the desert for forty years. The emphasis in this sad account is usually on those who missed their destiny and died in the wilderness--those who had murmured, complained, and rebelled against God. But someone else walked through the wilderness for those forty years, and that was the new generation that was being raised up by God. These young people were being prepared to fulfill destiny. Join Paul as he teaches about this new generation.

In Ephesians 4 where Paul deals with the sins of the flesh in the context of the old man and the new man, he inserts this warning: "Neither give place to the Devil" (Ephesians 4:27). This warning indicates that when you commit sins of the flesh, you give place--literally a claim--to Satan in your life. As you have learned during the past month, the world, the flesh, and the devil with his demons combine their evil forces to war against you. Each force can operate independently, but these three forces of evil are often combined in their attacks. Satan uses the world with its illusions, charms, philosophies, and ungodly systems, to gain access to your flesh. He uses your flesh to gain access to your soul, mind, and spirit. Then he tries to conform you to the world rather than to God. So how do you combat the forces of the world and the flesh? Join Paul as he teaches us hoe to combat Satan and gain Victory in our lives.

During this series you have confronted major strongholds that stand in the way of claiming your spiritual inheritance: The world, the flesh, and the devil. Be aware that Satan will continually try to catch you off guard and attack you through these avenues. King David, one of the most powerful men of God in the Bible who was called a man after God’s own heart, fell victim to Satan’s trap. Satan often tempts you after you have experienced a great spiritual victory. This was the case with David. He was tempted at a time of prosperity in the kingdom. He was the king of Jerusalem, lived in a beautiful palace on Mount Zion, had a royal court, and a powerful army.