You are Not Alone
Just as God provided His people a pillar of cloud by day for guidance and a pillar of fire by night for safe travels in the wilderness, it is also true that God will never leave your nor forsake you. No matter if it is daytime in your life or if you are experiencing a dark period in your life, He is ever present. What you must do is make sure that you stay under the cloud by day and that you stay by the fire by night. You must stay close to God. If you do not, you are liable to get scorched by the hot sun and get chills from the cold nights.
The truth is that God will not allow you to suffer alone but will always provide a comforter to help you (see 2 Corinthians 7:6).
Today, do not shy away from the comforters that God has provided you but move closer to them. It may very well be that they have walked through the same wilderness you are walking through and they can provide guidance. It may very well be that they are walking through the same desert you are right now and you can comfort one another. Whichever the case, avoid the urge to go it alone and reach out to whomever you need. Reach out to both God and man.
Your Attitude Can Make Things Worse
An attitude of complaint can change what you experience in your wilderness.
It is interesting that the manna God provided in the wilderness was originally white and being sweet like wafers with honey (Exodus 16:31). But after much complaining, we see that the manna became off-white and tasted like pastry with oil upon being grounded and baked (Numbers 11:8). See, the original manna was naturally sweet, but the new manna tasted shabby even after doing a lot of work.
That tells us that a bad attitude will always make the sweet things in life tasteless. It will turn a blessing into a something that does not satisfy.
The truth is you must drive out the scoffer in you in order for all contention, strife, and contempt to cease (Proverbs 22:10)
Today, choose to focus on what you do have (your manna) and be grateful for them instead of focusing on what is wrong. When you focus on will consume your life. If you focus on negativity, then negativity will consume your life and nothing will ever be good enough. When you focus on the positive and on the goodness of God is when you are able to make lemonade out of lemons.
Your Victory Waits on the Other Side
The only good thing about the wilderness is that God uses them to lead us to a land flowing with milk and honey. Why are you going through a wilderness? If you are faithful, the wilderness experience is simply a set-up for greater victories to come.
Remember how Jesus was released onto His ministry after He passed the wilderness test? Remember how Daniel was promoted after experiencing the den of lions? Remember how God promised to bless Abraham after He passed the test of obedience? You too can experience the spoils of victory if you do not faint in the wilderness.
The truth is that God will not allow you to be tested in life beyond what you can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13)
You can handle all the tests that life throws you. If you do not faint, you will experience the victory after the test. Why doesn’t God take away every single test Satan throws at you? It is because He wants you to experience the victory that comes after the test so you want nothing while He provides for all your needs during the test.
The only way for gold to be refined is to be put through the fire.
You Can Shorten Your Time of Trouble
The truth is that persistent unfaithfulness can lead you from one fire (trouble) to another (Ezekiel 15:7-8)
The problem with unfaithfulness is that you experience the fire of life without ever becoming refined as gold. If you have been in the wilderness for a long time, then you must re-evaluate your thought process, decision making, and most importantly, the state of your heart. Do not be like the tribes of Israel who spent 40 years in the wilderness although the journey should have been over in a matter of days. Just as their unfaithfulness led them to circle around the wilderness for years, you spend more time than you need in the dark places of life if you choose not to do what is right and obey the voice of God.
What is right is to soften your heart and give it to God. So I ask you: Is your heart open or have you allowed someone or something to harden your heart.
Remember, while the walls you put up keep away hurts, it also keeps away love.
SuperChamp 