Faith Journey Through The Wilderness / Author: Sonia McDonald
- Walk humbly before your God and maintain a healthy fear of the might of Yehovah.
Father hates pride and vanity. James 4:6-7 Therefore He says: ´God resists the proud, But gives grace to the Humble.” Resist the devil and he will flee. Psalm 138:6 For though the Lord is exalted, Yet He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar off. In the prophecy written by Amos, it tells of a coming disaster due to the arrogance of Jacob. (Amos 6:8) If you look at the world today and the Israelite nations, the authorities and much of the public refuse to abide by God’s laws, in fact they do the exact opposite, and have unfortunately been establishing through law that “evil is good and that good is evil”.
The sins that most describe Satan are vanity, greed, selfishness, exalting himself and pride. No wonder our Father abhors these qualities and does not want to see them in His set apart, holy children.
God chose the weak of the world and called them to be His First Fruits, we are not special in ourselves, it is God who blessed us and showed us His favor and grace, otherwise we would be like all the other people who love the things in this world instead of the things of God. We need to be thankful God has opened our minds to His truth and not let ourselves think we are better than others.
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. So, we must remember always to be thankful and grateful before our God, and to walk humbly with Him, knowing He is Almighty and all powerful and remembering that we ourselves are made of clay, and are nothing without God’s Spirit in us. -Prov 16:18
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves”. – Phil 2:2-5
“The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” -Mat 23:11-12
- On your Journey, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently”
During the Exodus, the Israelites were confronted with what looked like an impossible situation, sea in front of them, mountain range to the side and an Egyptian army complete with horses and chariots closing in fast. Moses spoke to them and gave the Israelites a message from God, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today… The Lord will fight for you: you only need to be still.” Ex 14:13-14
Often whilst on our wilderness journey we are faced with problems that seem to be closing in on us from all fronts. It is very easy to get caught up in the dramas happening around us and react emotionally and sometimes with fear of what will happen to us. It is exactly in these situations, when your back is against the proverbial wall, that The Lord wants us to turn to Him, and to trust Him and to wait patiently for Him to deliver us, in His perfect timing.
We need to capture our thoughts because worry, doubt and fear can overtake us. Take faith in knowing that Christ is always with us and will never forsake us. (Deut 31.8) The Word also tells us that all things work for the good of those who love Him, have been called to His purpose and keep His Commandments. (Rom 8:28)
To fulfill this requires faith and trust that what God says He will do, He will. We will especially need to follow this principle during the end times…be still and wait, and he who endures to the end will be saved. (Matt 24:13)
- Be Strong and of Good Courage.
The Bible contains a reference to this concept in various forms, 13 times. Joshua who had to conquer the Promised Land, physically, was assured he would always have God’s help to achieve this. God told Joshua 3 times to be strong and of good courage. “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God will be with thee wherever you go” Joshua 1:19
When we are faced with life’s challenges, upsets, hardships, poor health, difficult decisions, He wants us also to be strong and of good courage and to know He is with us wherever we go. Just as The Cloud by day and the Fire by night didn’t ever leave or desert the Israelites, even though they tempted God ten times, He will not forsake us either, even if we happen to fall temporarily. Father and Christ love us and Christ doesn’t want to lose one His Father has given Him. Hence His Holy Sprit will lead us to repentance.
Sometimes in life it is not easy to be strong and of good courage, but it is very important to God that we show we have faith in Him to see us through, no matter what the outcome. I often pray for The Lord to strengthen me, and He is very willing to do so, if we let Him and can put away our own fears.
It is so important to grow in strength and good courage, as in Rev 21:8 Christ makes a point of saying, “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolators and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur.” There are some very serious sins mentioned there, and cowardice is at the top of the list. We can only develop strength and courage through Christ, having a relationship with Him and learning we can trust Him. We must stay attached to that Vine firmly.
- “By this you will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
The love we are to have is true Agape love, which is illustrated by actions. Agape love is what all brethren are aiming at achieving, and need to be praying for, as it is greater than all the other gifts, and shows we are being led by the Holy Spirit and are firmly attached to the Vine.
1 Corinthians 13:1 “If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing”
The Agape love is there within God’s people and it is becoming very evident as Christ builds His temple of which true Christians are all a part.
One day we will all be one in Spirit and in Truth, just as The Father and Christ are One, and we will be one with Them. There will be no divisions amongst the body of Christ. The different parts will all work cohesively and smoothly together to achieve Christ’s purpose. God speed that day.
