FIGHTING THE WILDERNESS IS NOT THE ANSWER!

This is what the Lord says: " Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, "No, that's not the road we want!" Jeremiah 6:16

I found this verse today as I was thinking about rest for my soul! Do you ever feel like you are at a crossroad? You have a choice and which direction will you take? Do you ever feel like there are so many paths to take and you don't know what direction to go? Or maybe, just maybe, you feel like you are at a DEAD END! You might feel like you have no options and you are at a standstill. It is tough. Life is tough!

This verse helps us to come to some conclusions though. First, the Lord says to STOP! For some of us this is very hard to do! Our world is full of constant movement and things to do! If you are anything like myself, stopping is truly not in your vocabulary!! He also says to "Look around"....take a look at your surroundings, your blessings, your circumstances and evaluate them...take a close look with open eyes! Take the blinders off and soften your heart for what God wants you to see. This is not as easy as it sounds and it takes a truly humble person to open up and to see these truths that God wants you to embrace. It comes back to that whole surrender issue...are you willing to say "Lord, here is my life...show me how to live it and what direction to take...your will not mine!"  The next statement from the Lord is "ask for the old, Godly way....and walk in it". He tells us in His word that if we ask, then He will give. He shows us the way so that we may obey and walk in it...not walk away from it. If we walk in His way, then we will find rest for our souls!

Do you find yourself restless, weary, or tired? Take some time to rest in Him. Rest in His word, rest in Prayer, rest in quietness before Him.  Beth Moore gave us her 7th statement for PREPARE and it included taking time to rest. The seventh statement is "We, too, could experience regular Sabbath rest if we PREPARED for it". We need to prepare for our rest in Him. We also need to recognize when God is calling us to rest.

She began this statement by directing us to Revelation 12. In verse 6 it says that the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days. Just for your information, 1,260 days is equal to 3 and 1/2 years. I look at this verse in two ways. The first is with a sense of fear that she would be in the wilderness for that long.  Why would God allow that? In the dry and weary land...to be there all alone for such a long time ? I equate it with being in the desert...spiritually, emotionally, and physically. The desert is a lonely place and a place of daily struggle. It is a place where I think of darkness and despair. Seriously, three and 1/2 years is a long time!! But then I look at the second half of that verse and realize that God is right there to take care of her. Does she realize this? Is she aware of His presence? He is a God of compassion and love and is not going to leave her there all alone. If  you look on to verse 14, it says that" the woman was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon".

God has a HUGE message for us in this scripture! He prepares a time of rest for us...daily, weekly, and possibly even in the idea of seasons! He knows the circumstances surrounding us and the needs that we have. He understands the struggles we face in this world and even the attacks of the enemy! Maybe we should look at our wilderness times as really a signal from the Lord that we need a "time out"... I am sure that you have heard people say that they are in a certain season in their life. Sometimes, I think that maybe God is saying..."I want you to be in a season of rest". The wilderness is not a thing to fear! In fact, it represents a place of spiritual refuge and protection from Satan (the dragon). In this scripture God is aiding the woman (God's faithful follower) into an escape into the wilderness by giving her wings like Eagles...and He is sheltering her from the attacks of Satan. The wilderness is a place of rest where God wants to speak to you, give you rest, peace, and a time of learning and growth! He wants to use this time to strengthen you and to feed you with His truths.

My view of the desert has totally changed since reading this scripture. The key is to allow God to speak to me in the desert times. I now look at it as a place of refuge and protection and growth instead of emptiness and darkness. He has placed his children in the wilderness for a time of preparation! Look at the wilderness as a time to heal, a time to rest, a time to restore your soul...as God is right there with you to care for you and protect you! Will you allow Him to take care of you?

We must follow His path in order to find rest for our souls....fighting the wilderness is not the answer!