"He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night..." Exodus 13:22
Last July when Jamie and I drove down to California we listened to several sermon series. The one that really stuck with me was by Graham Cooke. He has a great accent and an incredible sense of humor (check him out on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=graham+cooke).
In one of the messages he said how much he LOVES desert experiences. In fact, God frequently tells him months in advance that one is coming, and to prepare – Graham often bemoans that he has to wait its arrival.
This shocked me. In the Christian community “desert experiences” are often looked at as “bad,” a time of hardship and pain. None I know like the desert, let alone love it!
As I listened to him speak, I caught the vision. I understood his meaning; and now I long for, relish in, and await desert experiences as well.
Graham pointed out the signs of desert dwelling – things I never noticed before. Consider the Israelites wandering for 40 years, study Paul’s early life – they found God in the desert - learned from him; grew intimate with him; built character and stretched faith through him. AND, God provided for all their needs.
Intimacy and provision happen in the desert. Whoo Hoo…where can I sign up!
Honestly, I think the desert is often mistaken for what I term “the back 40.” Moses went there after he killed the Egyptian – to cool off, learn a bit of humbleness, to live life and see things God’s way vs. his own. He tended his father-in-laws sheep day after day, year after year, decade after decade until poof! a bush lights on fire in front of him. Other than that, it looks like God was silent for the remainder of Moses’ time in Midian. No intimacy, no provision, but plenty of character building and stretching experiences.
The biggest difference between the two “locales” is one God puts us in, whereas the other we put ourselves into.
Huh?
Yep, you can put yourself into the desert, into the back 40, into exile. If you are experiencing a “dry spot,” repetitive sameness, unrelenting character building and provision is a problem; ask where God is. Have you heard from him lately? Did you flee his presence because of something you did? Do you need to repent and return?
God is just, he is fair, but unfortunately, he doesn’t pay much attention to pleas if sin is in the way…(Isa 1:15-17, 59:2, John 9:31).
The Israelites, Paul, Joseph, and countless others were put into the desert and their faith was emboldened, their characters were shaped, and they have an incredible story of God’s provision. How about you? Where are you living? What is your story?
Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in my own cute little place.
Work – Busy! Recruiting is in full swing, training Kick Off is this Saturday, it is less than two months to our HUGE retreat, we are pursuing income generating leads and…
Relationships – making new ones, deepening old ones
Family – my sister’s last ear surgery was a great success; she has close to 100% hearing now in her right ear now.
Computer – I have discovered that computers have personalities. This one is zippy, but don’t ask her to have too many things open and then unplug and plug back into the network – this causes extreme crankiness and she “stalls” – George (the IT wonder-guy) has helped me learn how to “recoax” her into action.
Last July when Jamie and I drove down to California we listened to several sermon series. The one that really stuck with me was by Graham Cooke. He has a great accent and an incredible sense of humor (check him out on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=graham+cooke).
In one of the messages he said how much he LOVES desert experiences. In fact, God frequently tells him months in advance that one is coming, and to prepare – Graham often bemoans that he has to wait its arrival.
This shocked me. In the Christian community “desert experiences” are often looked at as “bad,” a time of hardship and pain. None I know like the desert, let alone love it!
As I listened to him speak, I caught the vision. I understood his meaning; and now I long for, relish in, and await desert experiences as well.
Graham pointed out the signs of desert dwelling – things I never noticed before. Consider the Israelites wandering for 40 years, study Paul’s early life – they found God in the desert - learned from him; grew intimate with him; built character and stretched faith through him. AND, God provided for all their needs.
Intimacy and provision happen in the desert. Whoo Hoo…where can I sign up!
Honestly, I think the desert is often mistaken for what I term “the back 40.” Moses went there after he killed the Egyptian – to cool off, learn a bit of humbleness, to live life and see things God’s way vs. his own. He tended his father-in-laws sheep day after day, year after year, decade after decade until poof! a bush lights on fire in front of him. Other than that, it looks like God was silent for the remainder of Moses’ time in Midian. No intimacy, no provision, but plenty of character building and stretching experiences.
The biggest difference between the two “locales” is one God puts us in, whereas the other we put ourselves into.
Huh?
Yep, you can put yourself into the desert, into the back 40, into exile. If you are experiencing a “dry spot,” repetitive sameness, unrelenting character building and provision is a problem; ask where God is. Have you heard from him lately? Did you flee his presence because of something you did? Do you need to repent and return?
God is just, he is fair, but unfortunately, he doesn’t pay much attention to pleas if sin is in the way…(Isa 1:15-17, 59:2, John 9:31).
The Israelites, Paul, Joseph, and countless others were put into the desert and their faith was emboldened, their characters were shaped, and they have an incredible story of God’s provision. How about you? Where are you living? What is your story?
Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in my own cute little place.
Work – Busy! Recruiting is in full swing, training Kick Off is this Saturday, it is less than two months to our HUGE retreat, we are pursuing income generating leads and…
Relationships – making new ones, deepening old ones
Family – my sister’s last ear surgery was a great success; she has close to 100% hearing now in her right ear now.
Computer – I have discovered that computers have personalities. This one is zippy, but don’t ask her to have too many things open and then unplug and plug back into the network – this causes extreme crankiness and she “stalls” – George (the IT wonder-guy) has helped me learn how to “recoax” her into action.
Requests:
Housing – I am with my relatives for the time being but will move when the time is right into my own little space.
Work – Training Kick Off is all day Saturday, The Big Weekend retreat (March 28-30) and international leader’s conference (March 24-28) are fast approaching, and administratively I am learning new things and being stretched constantly…please pray for consistency in excellence and that I can build teams to make the conferences more enjoyable both for myself and the attendees.
Relationships - deepening of present ones, start of new ones and that God will be present.
Husband – I don’t know who he is /where he is, but I am sure he would appreciate prayer!
Financing - If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Contribute’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.
Dena
Work – Training Kick Off is all day Saturday, The Big Weekend retreat (March 28-30) and international leader’s conference (March 24-28) are fast approaching, and administratively I am learning new things and being stretched constantly…please pray for consistency in excellence and that I can build teams to make the conferences more enjoyable both for myself and the attendees.
Relationships - deepening of present ones, start of new ones and that God will be present.
Husband – I don’t know who he is /where he is, but I am sure he would appreciate prayer!
Financing - If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Contribute’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.
Dena
