If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all -- Charles H. Spurgeon
"Those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." --- John 4:13-14
The wilderness is a dry and thirsty land (Psalm 63:1 NKJV). Therefore, Jesus invites us with these words:
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scriptures has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit.. (John 7:37-39 NKJV)
There has been several dry seasons in my life when I would constantly pray and ask God for help, healing, guidance, something, and found it difficult to get a refreshing drink of living water. I recall constantly praying and talking to God for some type of answer and thinking every avenue I was doing on my own was His guidance, when in fact it wasn't. It took me years until I finally realized that my journey was a very long one in the wilderness. I constantly was creating resolutions to my problem alone and thinking I was including God in all of it when yet I was doing things on my own.
It wasn't until my ninth year working in the same company that I realized I didn't surrender my problem to God. I was going through these years with the trauma of encountering people who purposely wanted to bring my career down, who made it seem my work had no worth, people who took advantage of paying me less but getting the results and outcome of someone with a higher paying job, or even people who liked to have power and control.
At this point, every day just felt like a never ending cycle of negativity and weight on my shoulders I couldn't shake off. Just as I had enough and was willing to quit my job, all of sudden, I felt a nudge and heard a still voice within me saying, "FIGHT!" Fight wasn't to literally fight with all of these people I encountered who did something wrong against me, it was a "FIGHT" where it woke me up from this never ending cycle and made me realize to fight in this wilderness journey with God by my side. God does not bring us into these times to frustrate us and get us to give up until He changes our conditions. The wilderness is not intended to be a place of failure, but of victory!
In my moment of weakness and brokenness I asked God to lead me fully. I finally surrendered and allowed God to move within the season I have been going through. In order for me to do that, I had to stop trying to get results in the time table I set for myself. I stopped searching for a new job, stopped applying to the opportunities I found, and decided to be STILL. Now, being still and not doing anything isn't necessarily laziness or us not doing our part. To fully surrender something to the Lord, He knows in our hearts that we are FULLY COMMITING every aspect of this situation to Him. In doing that, all we need to do, is truly be still and wait on the Lord's next step for us. Just as it says in Psalm 46:10, "...Be still, and know that I am God.." So let us be still knowing that the God we've surrendered our circumstances to will show us a better path than we had for ourselves.
Being still was me letting go of that situation I truly had zero control over, which was very difficult for the type of person I am. The only part of this wilderness journey I had control over was my faith and response to this season in my life. I had control to either continue seeking God and His leading or to completely go at this my own way and continue being frustrated.
During the waiting period, I immersed myself in God's word, and prayed for the Lord to speak to me. Whether it was through people, the bible, a spiritual book I was reading, or even hearing His voice. The more I surrounded myself within God's presence and filled my soul with spiritual food and water, the weight I was carrying all of these years was being lifted. Along side reading this book by John Bevere in which these blog posts about the wilderness journey are heavily inspired by, I also was reading another book by Max Lucado "You'll get Through this" which looked into the life of Joseph and the years he endured his wilderness journey from when his brothers sold him into slavery to when he became second in command to Pharaoh.
I was refreshed and ready to conquer. Jesus says that rivers or springs of living water will flow out of the heart of one who comes to Him and drinks. It is not the outpouring (rain) of the Spirit of God that we experience in the desert. In this dry place, the water of refreshing must be drawn deep from our heart, the fountain or well of God. Notice that Jesus points out (John 7:39) that the well-source He's speaking of is the Spirit of the Lord and that rivers (plural), not a river (singular), would flow out of a believer's heart.
How does the Spirit of the Lord flow likes rivers from our hearts? The prophet Isaiah explains the nature of the Spirit's works: "And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord" (Isaiah 11:2 NKJV).
The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel, the Spirit of Might, the Spirit of Knowledge, and the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. Since Jesus says that the Spirit would be as rivers, that means there's a river of Wisdom, a river of Understanding, a river of Counsel, a river of Might, a river of Knowledge, and a river of the Fear of the Lord.
These wells are found in the heart of a believer, because this is where the Spirit abides. However, it is only the person who understands the ways of the Lord who will draw the waters out of the well. They key word is "draw". Again, it is important to remember: The waters of refreshing in the wilderness do not come from the Spirit's rain but must be drawn from the heart.
If I had chosen to walk away from the job I had and went on saying, " I might as well quit and stop seeking God since He has me in this terrible dry season, and nothing will change until He brings me out," I would have taken my heaviness with me. But because I spoke what God placed into my heart, it gave me what was needed to draw from the deep wells. I had tapped into the underground pool of salvation like JB stated, and was drawing out the water of refreshment. It truly was like drinking cool water from a spring in the middle of the desert.
Many give up in these dry times, but God is saying, "Keep pressing onward, don't stop!" We must have a persistent and tenacious drive within us that won't let us quit until His will is accomplished. Many stop praying when they feel dry, they stop because no water is coming from the wells, and it seems too difficult to obtain. They are weak, and God wants their strength built up for battles they will face in the future.
From where do we find the strength to draw? From joy! Isaiah 12:3 says, "Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" (NKJV). This is because "the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV). Joy is a spiritual force that strengthens us.
What is the joy of the Lord? For years, I thought that the joy of the Lord was being happy. I had a hard time understanding how to find joy "happiness", when the situation I was going through was so unhappy. How could I find joy in the bad times? How was there a way to find joy in the passing of my sister? And this type of joy in which I thought meant happiness was not what God was saying. The "joy of the Lord" is the joy we experience from our relationship with Him (Both in the good and bad seasons of life). He brings us joy! And I recall my study in James where James says, "My brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials." (James 1:2) So let us count it ALL joy, in both our trials and victories.
Just because we don't feel His presence in our prayers, does not mean He is denying us. Therefore, our joy is not based on how we feel. Rather, it's based on who He is and the privilege we have of being related to Him. So, we see past the lies of being denied and instead realized He is drawing us.. towards the deep wells.
Abraham's miracle son, Isaac, once found himself in a time of dryness: "Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham." (Genesis 26:1-3)
God specifically tells Isaac not to run to Egypt where it is comfortable, but to stay where God had put him. Many times when we find ourselves in a dry place, the first thing we think is, "I'm getting out of here!" If it seems dry to us in the church we attend, without even asking God we determine, "I'm going to where there's some spiritual excitement and great preaching". Or if it seems dry in our social or business life, we consider leaving and finding a city with a booming economy. We think, if I stay here where I am right now, I'll dry up and never see the plan of God fulfilled in my life.
That was me through the journey I faced for almost 10 years in my career. I was absolutely ready to run and move into something more comfortable. It was easier to give in to what was easier than to endure the process of the wilderness journey. The more I kept swaying to quitting my job, the more God was placing on my heart not to. I wasn't leaving because I had fear of regret. I wasn't leaving because just as the Lord told Isaac to stay put, I felt God pressing that upon me as well in that season. I felt the Lord telling me to just wait a little longer but to know that He was with me.
I was reminded by JB that if in a time of morning prayer, we are not sensing God's presence, our mind will start to wander as we think of all the things we need to do in the upcoming day. We will quickly finish our prayer time and start processing our to-do list. There are so many American Christians who think these things. They run from one social media platform to another, activity to activity, church to church, city to city, trying to find a place that is not dry. Instead of digging the wells and allowing God to use them to bring refreshing water to the dry place where they are, they "move to Egypt," so to speak, seeking relief and ease. What they don't understand is that in many of these dry times God intends to bring forth the vision He has given them.
This may not always be the case, because there are times when God prepares us for a new place and allows the old to dry up. The key is to be led by the Spirit of God! If He is not saying anything, then stay and fight! Look at what happens to Isaac as a result of obeying God and staying in the land of famine: When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him. So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac's wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.. He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them (Genesis 26:12-15, 18).
The water Isaac needed for his crops to grow was obtained by redigging his father's wells-- the ones plugged up by the Philistines. Just as with Isaac, the water we so desperately need for the growth of God's incorruptible seed to mature in our hearts must often be drawn from stopped-up wells. The Philistines were of the world and its system. Often we get too close to the system of this world, unknowingly our wells get plugged up. It is critical to unstop our wells so we can receive the needed watering of our souls.
I agree with JB as he believes that the invasion of cultural values into the body of Christ today has "stopped up" many wells. We encounter the church that is intended to be a source of flowing water become a dry place because it has allowed the enemy to seduce it-- to stop up wells. The question we should ask is whether God can restore His church with fresh water. The answer is of course He can. This is the picture revealed so beautifully by Isaiah:
"And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in." (Isaiah 58:11-12)
As Isaac did not seek his own way or pleasure by going to the land of ease, so we (by not doing things our way, seeking our own pleasure or solution, or living on our own words but rather honoring God) shall be like a watered garden and a spring of living water whose waters do not fail! If we do things His way, through us God will bring His living water to dry and thirsty people.
God is leading us to redig any wells that the world had plugged up. Again, that takes persistence, and it may take longer than a few hours, days, weeks, months, or even years. In my case, it took me almost 10 years. Oh, how thankful I am that I did not choose the path that was "easy." I endured, I stayed, I waited on God, and received the refreshing of the Spirit that I needed. A month after I fully surrendered to this wilderness journey and committed this to the Lord, God showed me an opportunity that was meant for me. Just like the Israelites on their way to the Promise Land, a journey that should have been short (11 days) became long (40 years), because they did not surrender and trust God when difficulty began to surface.
Researching on the career page of the company I work for, I was looking for a job for someone else. While I was looking for an open nurse position, I ran into a posting that was in line with what I could do, that I have experience in, and what I went to school for. I prayed and asked God, "Lord, is this your leading? Are you revealing something to me?" This job just got posted yesterday. Could this be something for me? The following day I decided to apply. I prayed over this posting before I actually applied, and I asked God to work within this situation hoping this was the next job for me, and this was the victory to this wilderness journey I have been on.
Within the week, I got an interview and was promoted right away. I could not believe what just happened. All of these years of trying to do things my own way within my career, applying for jobs that seemed to be the right fit for me, going above and beyond to "prove" myself because that's what people said I needed to do. Doing everything I possibly could to just GET OUT. If I did not respond the way Isaac did, I wouldn't have been able to experience the beautiful plan God had intended for me in my career. Now, I'm not saying I didn't struggle or have a moment of weakness throughout this journey, the point being is I still stayed to fight and see God's plan for me unravel and reveal itself in His perfect timing. The Lord provided more than I expected. I love my job and what I do. I enjoy the people I work with and have a great boss. I work from home and God restored everything I felt I lost out on financially and blessed me with more than I could ever imagine.
The wilderness is a metaphor for a huge array of circumstances. The common denominator is that we find ourselves in situations experiencing some type of deprivation or dryness. Often, a signal of the wilderness is the decline or total disappearance of our enthusiasm and passion for our calling or even for our relationship of God. Remember, you are not in the desert because we have sinned. God is preparing us for the change that is coming. This was the "new wine" described in my previous blog post (No.045).
Remember what God said about David: And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, "I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will." (Acts 13:22)
King Saul never went through a wilderness experience. He seemed humble in the beginning, hiding in the baggage from the prophet when he was name king. But after a few rounds of success, his impurities began to surface. He won a huge battle, but he'd do it his way and disobeyed God's orders. If it wasn't enough, he then built a monument to himself. This was only the beginning of the plethora of ungodly behavior that would surface. He eventually was destroyed by the impurities that were never addressed.
There are two conditions that will expose what's inside of you. Refining fire, as already discussed in a previous post. The other is success. However, success exposes the impurities to everyone around you, but you may still be blind to them. In their early days, many ministers would not permit the refining fire to purify them. Yet, not unlike King Saul, they are called and eventually enter a position of ministry. Sadly, however, they never had the proper preparation. So, when success causes their impurities to surface, this success eventually leads to the demise of what they were called to do.
Saul loved his "ministry" to the point of killing in order to keep it. David was not a man after the throne; he was a man after the heart of God. While in the wilderness, David found his true source of joy; it was none other than God Himself. Twice, David had a chance to kill Saul to get the throne, and he was encouraged to do so by the men with him. If David's motives had been the same as Saul's, he would have killed for what was promised to him by God through the prophet Samuel.
There are men and women today who will slander, gossip, or lie to get what God has promised them- think of the irony of that. They are like Saul, willing to do almost anything to get or keep their inheritance. God is looking for the "Davids" who have a heart after Him, not a position, influence, money, or fame. The reworking of the old wineskin is the deepening of the character of God within you and me. It is the character of God that can contain the pressure of the new wine of the Spirit (His anointing and presence). Character is developed by seeking the One we desire to follow.
So how long will it take? you may ask. The time required shouldn't matter to you. Just keep digging until the water flows. There will be many times when the answer is not found in one session of prayer. You will have to pick up again in the next prayer time and perhaps many prayer times after that. As JB travels to churches across America, he encounters many Christians who have allowed their wells to be plugged up and have settled comfortably into that state. The alarming fact is that he sensed it is the majority, not the minority who are in this condition. What would happen if these people stirred up the heavenly gift in them and allowed it to be released? Lives would be changed, families would be changed, churches would be changed, America would be changed!
The gift of God is lying untapped in too many. But even if the wells seem plugged, the Spirit is waiting. Keep digging! You will find fresh water in the wilderness.
Survival Tips for your Journey #10: The Secret Joy Medicine by John Bevere
When you're in a wilderness time, it's very easy to get your eyes locked in on your circumstances. JB wants to let us in on a little secret that has helped him survive and thrive the desert times. He calls it his Secret Medicine Joy.
When there's not a lot to be excited about, when it just seems like nothing's happening, maybe we've been praying and praying but not seeing any results, JB goes back to thinking about what Jesus did. He remembers that God literally saved us out of a hell where the fire never stops burning and the sulfur odor never stops smelling.
The torment there never ends. That hell wasn't created for us, but for the devil. But the devil tricked mankind and is bringing mankind there with him. Yet Jesus gave His life-- my Creator gave HIS life to save ME from that.
When I do this, when I get my eyes on Him, when I move into this perspective that is based on gratitude, when I look at life with this eternal view, all of a sudden my particular situation does not seem so significant. That is JB's Secret Joy Medicine. Reviewing all the things we have to be thankful for and keeping our eyes on Jesus.
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