The Desert Road ~ Principles 1-5
Soul Snack 87/14 ... Siroccos tousled the Israelites' hair while sand massaged each sole. Fenced by the desert's infinite spaciousness, with each step the slavery of Egypt receded safely behind.
By tripping through the desert God creates a superior new world for you. First He must work in you before He can work through you. The paradox of the desert is that such a barren and inhospitable place is abundantly rich for the soul.
The trek into the desert is entered and sealed by loss. The normality of all previous life in Egypt is suspended.
To not copy the Israelites failure in the desert, these principles must be grasped to tread the wilderness road successfully:
- work is absent so trust is learned. Refuse to seek the normal duties and constraints of employment. Egypt's work is not part of your desert walk.
- to glance backwards is fatal, for it is impossible to move forward when looking behind. Where you gaze is of the utmost importance. (Luke 14:25-33). To turn the eyes rearward is a longing for yesterday and a spiritual return to slavery. It is distrust for a better future and the regaining of the false belief that I can organise my life best. (1 Kings 19:21, Luke 9:62)
- choose to be brave. Courage is gained from recalling the parting of the waters and the miracles of life that first indeed made a gentile into a Hebrew. Courage is the glue of steadfastness, the bonding of perseverance.
- take Egypt's wealth (Exodus 12:36), but lose it possessions and even more importantly its inheritance. The nature of desert travel is to travel very light. You will never see Egypt again, nor will you settle until Canaan is reached. (Exodus 14:13)
- audit and then cleanse from sin. The desert is the place of stripping from Egypt, from sin and self-trust.
Never despise the suffering of the desert for it is your path to freedom.
Leonard Ravenhill was right:
"There are no reduced rates for revolution of the soul."
REMEMBER - the desert is never the destination but merely the journey, for after the desert there is always Canaan.
Today's Soul Snippet:
"The greatest power in human history is the forward movement of love." ~ Brennan Manning
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ENJOY - The Desert Sojourn ~ ENTRY