The desert experience

Everyone goes through a desert experience during their walk with God. In fact, there are a lot of different desert experiences we can go through. We can go through them spiritually, physically, at work, unemployed, with our family, financially, you get the idea.

Right now I am going through one with "out of work". I keep looking, but so far there has been nothing. This morning I was talking to my son Stephen about reading the Bible through in a year. I looked through my Bible to find some notes I had taken about reading the Bible through in a year. As I was looking for them I found a set of notes I had studied out about going through the desert experience. So I thought it might be a good idea to review them and share them.

It begins with God leading His people through the desert.

"So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. [a] The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle." Ex 13:18niv

I am amazed when I think about it! God led them into the desert. He led them, they didn’t wonder in by accident or get lost. He led them. Its hot, no water, no crops to graze. Hey God, how am I to take care of all these sheep? The green pasture is over that way.

There are several purposes that god has for us in the desert experience.

#1 God is giving us time to prepare.

Ex 13:17 NIV “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."

God knew they weren’t ready for the battle yet. Wait a minute you mean I am going through all of this just to go through something worse? No, I mean that God is getting you ready for victory!

#2 God wants to speak to you.

Are there times you pray life is a one way conversation? “God I need,
Could you help me with, please forgive me for, in Jesus name Amen,”\And never give him time to reply? There are times our lives are so busy that we need to slow down so we can listen to what He wants to tell us.

The word desert is midbar, which according to Strong’s # 4057 from #1696 is in the sense of driven, a desert, also speech.

Gesenius says it has 3 meanings: an empty pasture or an uninhabited plain country. A desert, a sterile, sandy country. To speak poetically the instrument of the mouth.

So the desert can be that place where God speaks. He gets us away from the hustle and bustle of our normal lives and speak to us.

#3 to arrange you.

Strongs 1696 says that the root word of midbar is dabar, a primitive root word which means: properly to arrange but also used figuratively to speak.

So there is the idea of to speak again, but primarily to arrange.

A few weeks ago, the pastor at my church, Pastor Ken was teaching on the feeding of the 5000. He spoke on the fact that the miracle did not happen until the people had set down in arranged rows.

Mark 6:39-40 (New King James Version)
39 Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.
There are times God wants to do something in our life, but it’s not going to happen until me get things in order.

#4 to worship God
The enemy means to use the desert experience to drive you away from God. The Lord wants you to use it as a time of drawing closer to him. Some of my deepest times of worship have come out of my own brokenness during a desert experience.

#5 to prepare you for ministry and warfare.
Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the enemy before he began his ministry. Israel was led into the desert before they entered the promised land. God used both those experiences to prepare them for the promises that He had in store.

Finally, remember its God timing. The enemy is always trying to get us to take shortcuts. But, the shortcuts always backfire and cause more problems. Such as the case with Abraham and Hagar. 4000 years later, the children of Hagar and Abraham are still dooking it out with the children of Abraham and Sarah.