Hearing from God

Hearing from God

I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. – Nehemiah 2:12

John 10:27-29

 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,

 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

21st-century research suggests that good communication is often the foundation of a good relationship. Good communication enhances relationships. But it is not a panacea. Dr. John Gottman, a clinical psychologist and the founder of the Gottman Institute, has observed that a couple’s communication pattern can predict a successful relationship and marriage. (Gottman, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work).

The epicenter of our Christian experience is intended to be our personal relationship with the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. All children of the King are invited to know and experience the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Any barriers or chasms between them and us have been eliminated through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ begins we hear His voice and respond in faith by coming to Him.

John 10:27-28

 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.

However, “hearing the word from God” is often inherently cause for concern. Why is this so? There are many competing voices in the spiritual world. How can we be sure that the voice we hear is indeed from the Father?

1 John 4:1  Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because there are many false prophets in the world.

Regrettably, we have more than our share of “enlightened masters,” gurus, and the new super spirituality of the church of Oprah. When we seek to hear from the Father, we must make sure that it’s His voice we are hearing and not our own thoughts or someone else’s ideas.

So how can we know when God is speaking? We have clear and concise guidelines. “God’s voice is always consistent with His Word. Any message must agree with what the Lord has already said in the Scriptures. His voice is quiet. God speaks to our hearts through His Holy Spirit in an inaudible but compelling way. The Lord speaks clearly. If we’ll tune our hearts to Him by setting aside time to read His Word and listen for His Spirit to speak, He will give us clear guidance” (Stanley).

REFLECT & PRAY

Psalms 37:5 Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.

Father I long to hear your voice and follow. Keep my heart open and responsive. Remind me not to draw attention to myself but rather to you.

INSIGHT

Some definitions are helpful.

Inspiration – In modern English, we use the term “inspiration” in two entirely different ways. First, “inspired” has the sense Of being “fired up,” motivated. People are inspired, and this type of inspiration moves or animates our minds, emotions, or wills. Biblical inspiration is quite different.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,

Paul teaches that the Scriptures are the inspired work or product of God. Paul focuses on the Bible, which is inspired, not the Father’s people used to write it.

The Greek word translated as inspired is theopneustos. Theopneustos literally means inspired by God or God-breathed. Theopneustos is made up of theos – God + pneo – to breathe.

Illumination – There are times when we read the Scriptures that “God speaks to us.” It is as though what we read was written just for us at that moment in our lives. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. He came to help us to understand the Scriptures.

John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.

Revelation – Revelation is “God’s disclosure of Himself.” In a technical sense, revelation is disclosing information not previously known or known only to God. The Bible is the revelation of God to man, par excellence.

2 Peter 1:20-21

 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding,

 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

There is a common thread for each revelation found in the Scriptures, regardless of the means or method by which it came. It was a personal communication from the Father to the individual that received it. The nature of this personal interaction between the Father and people is explained and defined in a rather unlikely place, the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a man with a mission, a calling from God to restore the defenses of Jerusalem and boost the morale of the returning exiles. Nehemiah writes,

Nehemiah 2:12 I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem.

Nehemiah states that the Father laid/put on his heart what He wanted him to do. The Father was directing or guiding his path in a very specific fashion. This is the essential core, the baseline, of what it means to listen to God. The Father wishes to communicate with us. When He does, He places thoughts, ideas, feelings, and even plans into our minds and hearts.

“Nehemiah felt that God had put into his heart what he had planned . . . He felt that he was led by God to what he was to do. God ‘had inspired’ (GNT) him, ‘was prompting’ (NEB) him, or ‘had put the thoughts into his heart about what he should do” (UBS).

This verse provides the what and the Who, but not the how. “What my God had put in my heart is a translation that veils the process by which an inspired plan was developing in Nehemiah’s mind” (Schoville).

“The immediacy of the action expressed by a present participle, ‘what my God was prompting me to do.’ He was forming the plan in his mind as he went, convinced that his thoughts were being framed by God” (Williamson).

The Hebrew word translated as laid or put is nathan. Nathan primarily means to give, put, set, or set up. Nathan marks the act, which sets something in motion.

To complete the task of rebuilding would take extraordinary leadership, confidence, and determination. “Nehemiah was to face many problems and much opposition, but his sense of divine direction would give him confidence. He was humbly aware that it was God who had entrusted the project to him and would give him the wisdom by which it would be accomplished (Breneman).”  

What does this imply? “This suggests that God leads people step-by-step as they respond in obedience to earlier directions. He guides them as they understand the circumstances and face the dilemmas of each new challenge” (Smith).

When we “hear from God,” we run the not-so-subtle enticement to draw attention to ourselves and not to the Father who was behind the message. Nehemiah, however, stipulates quite clearly that “the project was not his. It was from God and ‘for Jerusalem’ – not from Nehemiah nor for his prestige” (Kidner).

To hear from the Father and follow Him requires a soft and open heart.

Hebrews 4:7 Today, when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.

Proverbs 3:5-6

 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

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© Dr. H 2022

The extra thing ∙

The extra thing ∙

He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. – Luke 6:31

Luke 6:31-36

 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

 32 If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!

 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!

 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

 35 Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

Comparing ourselves to others seems to be part of our human DNA. It makes a lot of sense. It helps us determine if we are fitting in, doing well, and finding out where we stand in the pecking order. Comparing ourselves with others may often boost our self-esteem, but it is not always in our best interest.

The Father’s standard for children of the King is not being just as good as everyone else or even a little bit better. The Father’s standard for His family is to be much better than ordinary in our actions, thoughts, and moral values. The Father’s ethical and moral code involves “the extra thing” (Stanley).

The Lord Jesus Christ “described the common ways of sensible conduct and then dismissed them with the question, ‘What special grace is in that?’ [Or, more colloquially, ‘why should you get credit for that?’] So often, people claim to be just as good as their neighbors. Very likely they are. But the question of Jesus is, ‘How much better are you than the ordinary person?’” (Barclay)

What is the standard by which our conduct is to be judged? “It is not our neighbors with whom we must compare ourselves; we may well stand that comparison very adequately; it is God with whom we must compare ourselves, and in that comparison, we are all in default” (Barclay).

The question each of us must ask ourselves is challenging. How do I measure up to the Father and what He is truly like? There is never really any contest when He is our standard is there? The Father is always perfect in all His ways, thoughts, emotions, and actions. We, on the other hand, not so much.

Why is the standard so high for the children of the King? The Father dreams that each child of the King aspires to grow to spiritual maturity and become like Him wherever possible. We are to take on His character and communicable attributes: love, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and mercy, to name a few.

We are to love our enemies and seek their highest good. That is precisely what the Father did for us.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The golden rule goes far beyond reciprocity. Even sinful, wicked, “normal” people practice reciprocity to some degree or another.

REFLECT & PRAY

We are most like the Father when we act like the Father. We should reflect the profound inner transformation constantly underway within our minds and spirits.

Father thank You that You are kind and merciful. You chose not to give me what I deserve. But instead, You showered me with grace and provided me with things I could never have earned or obtained by my own effort.

INSIGHT

The kind of love that the Father requires of children of the King is selfless love. We are to love those that hate us, scorn us, despise us, use us, and seek to do us harm. Many of us were like that towards the Father before we met Him and were adopted into His Forever Family. Many of us hated the very thought of God and wanted to stay as far away from Him as possible.

Mercy is not simply feeling pity; it means acting with compassion. Instead of just sympathizing with us, the Father did something about our desperate condition. He sent His Son to save us from sin and its horrendous consequences. We are to demonstrate the Father’s kindness to others despite their treatment of us (Barclay).

How is it possible for us to even imagine trying to live like this? The Scriptures do not teach that living out our faith is hard. Rather, it is impossible without supernatural enablement. Without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit within, we are simply unable to achieve the extra thing.

Being merciful to those who do not deserve it is contrary to our natural inclinations. Our fallen DNA screams out against it. It is possible only through the power of God’s Spirit within us. What we naturally want is justice. To extend mercy seems to say the offense against us was not very bad – but this is a misunderstanding of the word mercy. Because where no wrong has been committed, there is no need for mercy.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.

The essence of mercy is not merely refraining from giving people what they have coming to them. Instead, it is, doing good to or for them.

When you are merciful, you give others what the Father has given to you. And aren’t you glad that He does not immediately deal out retribution for every sin you commit? So remember, the Father wants you to trust Him with all your hurts. And He also wants you to treat others (even your enemies) as you want to be treated – with mercy (Stanley).

Charles Stanley, whom I greatly admire, has often said, “Look your best, do your best, be your best” (Stanley). That is very hard. But in light of Luke 6:31-36, what the Father is asking is even more challenging. “Look His best, do His best, be His best.”

Luke 6:36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

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© Dr. H 2022

Best friends forever ∙

Best friends forever ∙

I no longer call you slaves because a master does not confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. – John 15:15

1 Peter 1:8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

Friends was an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. During its ten seasons, it depicted the lives of six twentysomething friends: three men and three women, living in the heart of New York City.

Over the course of ten years, this somewhat typical bunch of buds worked through family trouble, past and future romances, difficulties, humor, sadness, and situations that demonstrated what it means to be a true friend. It addressed everyday human experiences: falling in love, breaking up, jobhunting, dealing with parents, marriage, and becoming parents. It was a classic sitcom and became one of the most popular TV shows of all time.

It had a tremendous impact on US and international culture. It is a conflictless “hangout sitcom” that revolves around the idea of the importance of good friends. According to a pop-culture expert at the University at Buffalo, Friends is “one of those rare shows that marked a change in American culture.” It presents a lifestyle that revolves around friends creating and sustaining relationships and seeking help from each other. 

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you” (Elbert Hubbard)

“The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing… not healing, not curing… that is a friend who cares” (Henri Nouwen).

“There is nothing better than a friend unless it is a friend with chocolate” (Anonymous).

Good friends are hard to find. Even more so in a fragmented, hectic, independent, somewhat isolated social media culture. Being “friended” or “unfriended” on social media is not the same thing as true friendship.

REFLECT & PRAY

“The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity” (Ulysses S. Grant).

Father I can hardly believe that You and Your Son are my Best Friends Forever!

INSIGHT

Each child of the King has been “friended” by the Lord Jesus Christ. And that friendship will last throughout all eternity.

John 15:15 I no longer call you slaves because a master does not confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

The Lord Jesus Christ has declared that His disciples are not mindless robots or coerced slaves. Instead, they are His unique and special friends. If we are His friends, then He is our friend! What an extraordinary idea. Friendship with the eternal Son of God.

You are my friends implies a stunning level of comfortable personal interaction with one who is also the eternal, omnipotent Creator of the universe. In the OT, only Abraham (Isaiah 41:8) and, by implication Moses (Exodus 33:11) are called “friends of God.”

Here Jesus extends this privilege to all obedient believers (ESV).

It is hard to take this in and believe that it is even remotely possible to be close to a holy and righteous God and be best friends with Him. But such we are. And what a unique and marvelous friendship it is.

As a friend, the Lord Jesus Christ prioritized His time to be with His friends. He lived closely with His disciples for three years and proved to be not only their Lord and Savior but also the best friend they had ever had. In a fashion similar to the Friends TV series, they went through family trouble, all manner of difficulties, successes and failures, times of joy and pleasure, and extreme sadness and loss.

The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrates and embodies what it means to be a true BFF (best friend forever).

Speaking to “doubting” Thomas, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29).

1 Peter 1:8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

“Unlike the disciples, we have never physically walked with Jesus, but this does not exclude us from His friendship” (Stanley).

The eternal and unalterable reality is that each child of the King who has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord becomes His friend.

Apart from these remarkable words of the Lord Jesus Christ, how can we be even more confident in His friendship?

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

The reality of our best friend forever status with the Lord Jesus Christ is confirmed for all time because He laid down His life for us.

The Lord Jesus Christ shows us how to be friends, true friends. It is all about caring, giving, self-sacrifice, and following His example. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us to love one another as He has loved us. We should concern ourselves with what is best for others and be willing to put them first. The standard that He set for us is incredibly high and humanly impossible to achieve in our strength alone. For some of us, it may even sound ridiculous.

Philippians 2:5-8 

 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,

 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

How can we possibly do this?

The Father is at work. He is at work all the time. And He invites us to participate in what He is doing. When we do so, He enables us to do what He desires for us to do.

Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

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© Dr. H 2022

God comforts the depressed

God comforts the depressed

God, who comforts the depressed – 2 Corinthians 7:6

2 Corinthians 1:2-6

 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

 6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles,

He suffered and battled severe depression all his life. At one point late in life, he sank deep into despair and had to fight “the awful temptation to end his own life. Could this man possibly be useful in service to the Lord? Does severe depression or even personality disorders disqualify someone? The answer is a resounding no!

James Hudson Taylor arrived in China in 1854. Rather than serve in coastal cities, where most of the other Protestant missionaries served, he went into the vast inland provinces of China. The China Inland Mission was established on June 25, 1865. Thousands of Chinese accepted the Lord Jesus Christ.

Taylor incorporated many fresh new ideas, many of which were harshly criticized. Missionaries were required to live and dress like those they were reaching out to. They immersed themselves in the culture.

He correctly understood that single women were fully capable of operating distant mission outposts without male support. His policy was an overwhelming success. By 1882, CIM included 95 single women and 56 wives. His vision changed modern-day missions. Women distinguished themselves in virtually every aspect of service. By 1898, strict gender roles were almost swept aside in many evangelical missions. Women barred from ordained ministry in their homelands were given an open door to serve abroad. Hundreds eagerly volunteered, and the rest is history.

When people experience difficult circumstances, loss, and have their way blocked, they often become downcast and depressed. Does this prevent the children of the King from being used in the Father’s service? The Scriptures answer with a resounding No! It is quite common for children of the King to be in challenging circumstances as they serve the Father. So it was with Paul.

2 Corinthians 7:5-6

 5 When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside.

 6 But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us.

But something marvelous happened to Paul amid his difficulties. He was encouraged by the Father Himself. The Father is the comforter who comes alongside to help, console, and encourage.

2 Corinthians 1:3 God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.

REFLECT & PRAY

Often when we struggle, the Father is at work to bring about perspective transformation in our lives.

Father help me to recognize that You use the struggles and discouragement I often experience to bring about perspective transformation within me. You are at work to renew my mind and change my behavior.

INSIGHT

The Greek word translated as downcast, distressed, downhearted, or depressed is tapeinos. Tapeinos connotes low-lying or lowly. As an emotional state, it means to be downhearted, lowly in spirit, or depressed. As a substantive, it refers to downhearted people filled with melancholy and despair. It is part of the fallen human state to become depressed or discouraged. Many children of the King suffered from melancholy or depression.

But the great promise of Scripture is that the Father is there to comfort the depressed.

2 Corinthians 7:6 But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us . . ..

The Greek term translated as encouraged or comforted is parakaleo. Parakaleo connotes a broad semantic range of ideas to urge, implore, exhort, call to or for, to encourage. It comes from two Greek words para – alongside or to the side of, and kaleo – to call, aid, help, comfort, or encourage. It connotes alleviating sorrow or distress, giving emotional strength, cheering up, encouraging, comforting, or consoling. It refers to the effort to mitigate sorrow or distress or provide emotional strength.

That which, on the surface, sounds objective and distant is, in fact, quite personal and near. Who is the one who has been discouraged and become distraught and depressed? “Paul refers to himself in his worry over the Corinthians which drove him into depression” (William R. Baker). Depression is part of his autobiography. Even the upbeat, never say die, Paul, who pressed onto the upward call of the Lord Jesus Christ, became downcast because of the difficulties he suffered. Sorrow and repentance, grief and joy are often intertwined.

Out of this challenging situation, Paul sets forth a life-changing principle. “Paul contrasts godly grief with worldly grief. The first produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, the second produces death. The difference between godly grief and worldly grief is that the first issues in repentance while the second ends with remorse” (Kruse).

“The Corinthians proved their repentance by doing everything they could to mend the wretched situation that their thoughtless conduct had produced. Now they hated the sin they had committed and even hated themselves for committing it, and they worked hard to atone for it” (Barclay).

On the other hand, worldly sorrow, in one sense, is not sorrow at all. It is not sorrow for the sin itself nor for the hurt it may have caused others. Instead, it is only resentment for getting caught. Those who experience worldly sorrow, if given an opportunity, would most likely do the same thing again. If they thought they could escape the consequences, they would do it (Barclay).

Godly sorrow is a feeling of sorrow that recognizes the wrongness of the thing done. It does not merely regret the consequences. It hates the thing itself. “We must be very careful that our sorrow for sin is not merely sorrow that we have been found out, but sorrow which, seeing the evil of the sinful thing, is determined never to do it again and has dedicated the rest of its life to atone, by God’s grace, for what it has done” (Barclay).

Ephesians 4:21-24

 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,

 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.

 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.

The Father uses confrontation that produces grief and sorrow to bring about life transformation. The Father takes no pleasure in causing grief in children of the King. He does take great pleasure in the fact that grief and sorrow produce repentance. Paul’s heart reveals the Father’s heart. Paul rejoiced because they were grieved into repenting. They changed their minds and took action to rectify the situation.

Children of the King are often caught in their own history and relive it. Becoming aware of this reality and experiencing perspective transformation renews the mind and frees us to behave differently.

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© Dr. H 2022

Getting ready ∙

Getting ready ∙

Don’t you realize that in a race, everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! – 1 Corinthians 9:24

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.

 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

On Mar 24, 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC ) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe jointly announced the postponement of the 2020 Olympics to 2021.

Olympic competition has been canceled only three times in the 124-year history of the modern Games, and all three instances were because of global conflict (1916, World War I; 1940 and 1944, World War II). But never before has a Games been pushed back a year, an enormous undertaking for a global event with more than 11,000 athletes from around the globe.

The life of an Olympic athlete can be challenging and austere, and the training schedule can be relentless. Most athletes wanted a postponement, though even that has its challenges.

For days, athletes had been voicing concerns about the 2020 Tokyo Games, worrying that they were jeopardizing their health and the health of others if they continued training while many of their countries were locked down and restricting activity.

Getting ready to win takes determination, focus, and visualization. In an athletic race, 99% of the time, only one individual can win. Now and then, there is the rare tie only visible via a “photo finish.” 

Philippians 3:13-14

 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

But in the spiritual race, we can all win the prize. The Father may take us through tough, grueling times, but He does all this to do us “good in the end.”

REFLECT & PRAY

We may not see that good right away, but if we trust Him, He will bless us in His time (Stanley).

Father thank You that You care enough to give me a challenging course to run that I might win in Your service.

INSIGHT

The training course and regimen to win spiritually are entirely different than what we would expect. The Father has a unique program that he takes each of His children through to prepare them to be winners. It is bizarre, almost inexplicable, that to win, we must lose!

Rather than using athletic competition and training, the Father uses “the wilderness” to get us ready. He humbles us and often brings us to an end of ourselves. When we can no longer make it on our own, help ourselves, we learn to depend upon Him. That is when we become winners in His sight.

Deuteronomy 8:2-14

 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character and find out whether or not you would obey his commands.

 3 Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

 5 Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the LORD your God disciplines you for your own good.

 11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.

 12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in,

 13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!

 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

The wilderness is the place where the Father gets us ready to serve and ultimately win.

These words are spoken in the background by Cecil B. DeMille regarding Moses in the movie the Ten Commandments. He is struggling, famished, and thirsty, yet he continues to move forward in the harsh, dry, and parched desert. Finally, Moses arrives in the physical location and spiritual place where the Father wants him to be:

Into the blistering wilderness of Shur, the man who walked with kings . . . now walks alone.

Torn from the pinnacle of royal power; stripped of all rank and earthly wealth; a forsaken man without a country, without a hope; his soul in turmoil like the hot winds and raging sands that lash him with the fury of a taskmaster’s whip. He is driven forward, always forward, by a god unknown, toward a land unseen . . . Into the molten wilderness of sin where granite sentinels stand as towers of living death to bar his way.

Each night brings the black embrace of loneliness. In the mocking whisper of the wind, he hears the echoing voices of the dark. His tortured mind wondering if they call the memory of past triumphs or wail foreboding of disasters yet to come or whether the desert’s hot breath has melted his reason into madness.

He cannot cool the burning kiss of thirst upon his lips nor shade the scorching fury of the sun. All about is desolation. He can neither bless nor curse the power that moves him, for he does not know where it comes.

Learning that it can be more terrible to live than to die, he is driven onward through the burning crucible of the desert, where holy men and prophets are cleansed and purged for God’s great purpose, until at last, at the end of human strength, beaten into the dust from which he came. The metal is ready for the Maker’s hand.

Such harsh and brutal “training” in preparation is never easy but grueling, severe, and painful. It is the discipline required of a world-class Olympian. Many drop out and cease their efforts. However, when we recognize that the Father is purposely taking us through it to achieve His dream and goal for our lives, we find personal reserves and purpose we never dreamed of.

Hebrews 11:24-27 

 24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.

 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.

 27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.

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© Dr. H 2022