When God draws you aside into a desert place, do not leave your wilderness retreat until you hear from God. When Paul went into the Arabian desert, he did not confer with man, but he did confer with God. Paul wrote of his experiences saying:
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia , and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see
Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. (Galatians 1:15-18)
Three years in the desert conferring with God followed by fifteen days conferring with man. We often get the process reversed. When we have questions or encounter difficulties, we spend months and sometimes years going to counseling and seeking input from friends or family. There is a place for godly leadership and wise Christian counsel of course, but that place does not replace conferring with God Himself. And to do that, you must get alone with Him.
Abraham was called alone (Isaiah 51:2). Jacob was alone when his life was finally transformed (Genesis 32:24). Moses was alone in the desert when he experienced the voice of God from the burning bush (Exodus 3). The Prophet Jeremiah records that he sat alone because of the hand of God upon him (Jeremiah 15:17). Daniel was left alone when he saw his great vision of future kingdoms (Daniel 10:7). The psalmist felt like a pelican in the wilderness and a sparrow sitting alone on the house top (Psalm 102:6-7). Elijah thought he was the only prophet left when he nursed his wounds in the wilderness (1 Kings 19:10). And then there was John, alone on Patmos, when he received the amazing revelation of the end-times.
Do not fear the isolation of the wilderness. It is there that God will confer with you. And in reality, you are not alone because Jesus promised "...I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20.)
Alone in the wilderness, hiding from the evil King Saul, the psalmist wrote:
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10)
Whether it be Heaven, Hell, the depths of the sea, or the middle of a wilderness--you are not alone.
PRAYER:
My FATHER, My God, this year let my life reflect the blessing of the Lord, I shall not be static, I decree PROGRESS, FAVOR, HONOR, AND INFLUENCE are my portion. My life is SALTED, My speech is SALTED, My Home and Business are SALTED in the name of Jesus.
Commentaires