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TIP #6: FIND NOURISHMENT PART 2 of 3

Daniel Kolenda

The author of Hebrews warned Christian friends going through a spiritual wilderness, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways’; as I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’” (Heb. 3:7-11 NASB).

He went on to explain, “To whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief” (Heb. 3:18-19 NASB). Thus He used strong terms to warn His Church against disobedience in a spiritual wilderness. Just as God disciplined Israel, so would He discipline them if they continued to disobey. Suffering a difficult season was no excuse for violating God’s Word.

Now let’s look a little closer. The author of Hebrews linked obedience to faith like two sides of the same coin. The two words were interchangeable in the verse quoted just above. God banned Israel from the Promised Land for disobedience in the first sentence, and for unbelief in the second. Their lack of faith led to their disobedience. Their disobedience indicated their lack of faith. Further, the author made very clear exactly what “word” Israel disbelieved and disobeyed. “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard” (Heb. 4:2 NASB).

So Israel did not believe “the word they heard.” Specifically, the “word” Israel rejected was God’s promise that they would enter the Land of their destiny! God pledged them a land flowing with milk and honey. He promised them a good and spacious land where they would enjoy security and have rest from their enemies. Indeed, He would liberate them from bondage and personally escort them into the home of their dreams Himself. This was His promise, His “word” to them.

After centuries of slavery in Egypt, what exhilaration they must have felt when they “heard” this promise. What delight they must have taken in the dream-come-true “word” declaring their own country, identity, and freedom. Yet here they were in a desert - no milk, no honey, no safety, no inheritance, no promise fulfilled. Months earlier, as the Red Sea parted before their eyes, God’s promises must have felt so real to them! They must have almost tasted their Land’s fruit and smelled its lilies. But instead: dust, danger, rocks, thirst, serpents, and fears - the desert. God said, “Promised Land,” but then He led them into the wilderness. Instead of entering their glory, they were wandering in a wasteland, battling cruel elements, and scrounging for strange food every morning.

Israel faced a predicament. The word of God that promised a glorious future now looked absurd in the barren wilderness of shattered dreams. The “word they heard,” instead of inspiring hope through fulfilment, now seemed to hang suspended above them, just out of reach, sneering and jeering at them as they roamed the desert. Israel was caught in that long, strange tension between promise and fulfilment, between God’s integrity and circumstances that appeared to contradict His Word. But that was the very time they needed to believe. If they would have believed God’s Word amid such crisis, then they would have obeyed it and profited from it. Since they did not believe, they did not obey - and did not receive its benefits. God put them in this situation and watched to see what kind of people He had.

Their response was regrettable. They complained about their conditions. They longed for their days of slavery in Egypt. They worshipped idols. They committed immorality. They criticised their leadership. They tested the Lord who delivered them and promised them something good. And when they heard about the inhabitants of their “Promised Land,” they said, “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness! Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt? Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!” (Num. 14:2-4 NLT).

No wonder God was angry with them. They questioned His faithfulness based on what their natural senses perceived, rather than on what God said. Put another way, Israel wanted to live by bread alone and not every word that came from God’s mouth. Their lack of faith turned into rebellion. They scorned God’s promises and defied His directions. As a result, they did not benefit from the original “word they heard.” They died in the wilderness without seeing the Promised Land.

Therefore, when we enter a spiritual wilderness, we must not confuse our situation with God’s integrity. Living by His every word means continuing to believe His promises even if they seem contradicted for the moment. That’s the whole point of the wilderness! When God declares to us, “Promised Land,” He will usually take us through its opposite first - the desert. Those are the ways of God that Israel did not know. But they are the ways of God we must know.

Whether you’re facing a wilderness or have in the past. Order today Daniel Kolenda’s ‘Wilderness Survival Guide’ Combo Pack - as a spiritual “Survival Guide” for the desert — the supreme source of wisdom both for enduring the wilderness, as well as navigating safely through it to God’s promised destination.

Click the link above to order the combo pack!

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INTRODUCTION - THE PATHWAY OF ADVERSITY

Daniel Kolenda

"If you're going through hell, keep going!" So said Winston Churchill during one of the worst crises in world history. And these words of wisdom still apply to anyone passing through a trial today. Adversity does not have to become our destination. It can be a pathway to something greater. Maybe you are passing through a difficult season in your life. Perhaps you feel spiritually dry and alone. You might feel as though your prayers are not being heard and you wonder if God even knows where you are. You are not alone. Millions of believers have passed through these troubled waters and experienced the same emotions. King David sang about the "deep sunless valley of the shadow of death." John of the Cross wrote of the "dark night of the soul." Even Jesus went through times of suffering when He had to offer "prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death" (Heb. 5:7). People often refer to such seasons as, The Wilderness. The wilderness is a hard place. But it's as crucial for our lives as it is painful. While a desert season feels terribly wrong, and loneliness and despair may seem to reign, God is with you and He desires to use the wilderness for your eternal good. To reap its benefits, however, you must understand its nature and purpose. That's the reason I wrote the Surviving Your Wilderness book and have created this special, email series. It looks to the Bible as a spiritual "Survival Guide" for the desert – the supreme source of wisdom both for enduring the wilderness, as well as navigating safely through it to God's promised destination. But first things first. If you have not been born again into the family of God, then the wisdom that follows cannot apply to you. Before a person receives the mercy of God through faith in Jesus Christ, he or she is lost in a perpetual wilderness that stretches beyond this world and into the next. And there's no way out – except one: repent and believe the Gospel. Entering God's Kingdom by making Jesus your Lord and Saviour makes you a child of the most loving, powerful, and wonderful Father. He knows how to guide and take care of you as you traverse life's journey, even when it leads you into a wilderness. His wisdom for the wilderness is what I want to explore in this timely, email study. To do that I will adopt six tips survival experts give for those stranded in the wilderness. As you will see, the secrets for surviving a physical wilderness bear striking parallel to those for surviving a spiritual one. Survival Tip #1 - Don't Panic Survival Tip #2 - Assess Your Situation Survival Tip #3 - Find Shelter Survival Tip #4 - Build a Fire Survival Tip #5 - Drink Water Survival Tip #6 - Find Nourishment Now read Survival TIP #1 - DON'T PANIC Whether you're facing a wilderness or have in the past. Order today Daniel Kolenda's 'Wilderness Survival Guide' Combo Pack - as a spiritual "Survival Guide" for the desert — the supreme source of wisdom both for enduring the wilderness, as well as navigating safely through it to God's promised destination. Click the link above to buy the combo pack!

SURVIVAL TIP #1 - DON’T PANIC

Daniel Kolenda

Surviving a physical wilderness takes more than the skills to build a shelter, start a fire, and purify water. It requires a certain psychology, a mindset, a will to live that overcomes the fear and stress associated with crisis. In fact, some people who possessed the skill still died when stranded in a physical wilderness because they lacked the will. And others who lacked the skill but had the will, found a way to survive. Upon entering a spiritual wilderness, our tendency is often to let our imagination run wild. "Will I ever make it out?" "Why is this happening to me?" "I don't feel ready for this." "Does God not realise what I'm going through?" "Is He angry with me?" "Is He judging me?" "Is He even real?" Though it's natural to ask questions like these, obsessing over them depletes our resolve to believe God. And since these questions relate to the very nature of God, their responses must be biblically sound. That's why our study begins here. In the wilderness, perspective is everything. So if you find yourself in a wilderness: don't panic. Take a deep breath. Take a moment to remind yourself who God is, who you are in Christ, and what the Bible says about His faithfulness during troubled times. Fear makes you susceptible to lies from the enemy. He will lie about God's faithfulness and love for you. He'll even lie about God's existence, or about how valuable you are to Him. Such lies are meant to sap you of spiritual stamina. But that's just when the "will to live" must rise the will to live in the Spirit while you pass through desert regions. For God's children in the wilderness, the "will to live" does not merely refer to a desire to survive. It refers rather to an earnest determination to believe God. During spiritual drought, you must determine sometimes against all circumstances, emotions, and even the advice of friends that God is real. He is good. He is faithful, and you will make it through to the other side with Him. Don't let the enemy or circumstances define who God is for you. Refuse to allow yourself to believe anything but God's Word. Resolve as David did during a spiritual desert: "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!" (Ps 57:7). One of the most important things you can understand is that even when it seems like everything around you is spinning out of control, if you are a child of God, there is nothing that touches your life that is not ultimately under God's supervision. Everything in your life is somehow "Father filtered." He loves you dearly and deeply. He is watching over you, and won't allow anything to separate you from Him. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38). Allow God's invincible love to cast out all of your fear. "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." (Romans 5:3-5) Now read TIP #2: ASSESS YOUR SITUATION - Part 1 (The Resource of God's Word) Whether you're facing a wilderness or have in the past. Order today Daniel Kolenda's 'Wilderness Survival Guide' Combo Pack - as a spiritual "Survival Guide" for the desert — the supreme source of wisdom both for enduring the wilderness, as well as navigating safely through it to God's promised destination. Click the link above to buy the pack!

TIP #2: ASSESS YOUR SITUATION - Part 1 (The Resource of God's Word)

Daniel Kolenda

Those stranded in the wilderness must constantly evaluate their situation. They need to take stock of their resources and understand their surroundings. That way they can move forward with a level head and a good idea of what's necessary to get through. What are your Resources? If we were lost in the wilderness, our odds of survival would drastically improve if we possessed a few basic supplies like food, water, a knife, or matches. Never are these provisions more important than when our survival is at stake. This is also true for the spiritual wilderness. The resources God has given us for spiritual life are always precious, but in the wilderness we must rediscover them and cling to them like never before. These resources are the Word of God, the fellowship of saints, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God God's Word is an oasis of truth in any spiritual desert. No matter how barren the season, it is an ever-present source of renewal and strength. It does not depend on outward circumstances to be effective. Christ's Word "dwells among you richly" (Col 3:16) because "the word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart" (Rom 10:8). When outward conditions contradict the truth, the truth must determine our inward condition. "You desire truth in the innermost being" (Ps 51:6). This allows us to live and speak from our heart - the hidden chamber that stores God's Word - and not from our circumstances. "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (Ps 119:11). This is especially important when the enemy takes advantage of our wilderness by flooding us with lies and temptations. Our only weapon against him is the truth of God's Word. That is our wisdom for the wilderness. Jesus exemplified this in His own wilderness when He responded to the devil's temptations by quoting Scripture (Matt 4:1-11). He reached into His internal arsenal, found just the right texts, and fired truth back at his enemy. God's written Word has incredible power when we believe. It is our greatest resource during dry seasons. Not only does it protect us from lies, but God's Word also reminds us of His purpose for the wilderness itself. The wilderness can knock us off kilter and make us feel like something is terribly wrong. But the truth of God's Word provides wisdom to put everything in perspective. The two disciples walking the road to Emmaus were suffering the pain of a sudden spiritual desert. They were totally disoriented, darkened with the despondence of dashed hopes and a chilling sense of prevailing evil. Their hero had died. Jesus of Nazareth, the mighty prophet whom they thought would redeem Israel, seemed to perish in shame like a false Messiah. Religious leaders mocked and murdered Him. Now their aspirations of freedom and glory lay buried with Him. How could this have happened? How could such hope be turned so suddenly into a wasteland? Jesus comes along incognito. He walks beside them and interviews them. He learns what they are discussing and why they are so sad. Then He completely transforms their perspective by explaining the Scriptures to them (Luke 24:27). "Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" (Luke 24:26). Notice that Jesus does not first reveal Himself to them in person, showing them that He is alive and well and walking right next to them. Rather, His identity remains hidden while He explains from the written Word that their circumstances are not dismal after all. They are necessary to God's plan of salvation. Jesus does not change their circumstances; He changes their perspective through the wisdom of the Scriptures. Now they will understand, not just that Jesus came back from the dead, but that the whole "tragedy" was actually God's plan from the beginning. There was no other way to forgive their sins and exalt the King. Truth from the Scriptures transformed their viewpoint, not their situation. That is the power of God's Word. It is a most wonderful treasure when you find yourself in the desert. As you assess your resources, rediscover the Word - because in the wilderness, perspective is everything. Now read TIP#2 - ASSESS YOUR SITUATION - Part 2 (The Fellowship of the Saints) Whether you're facing a wilderness or have in the past. Order today Daniel Kolenda's 'Wilderness Survival Guide' Combo Pack - as a spiritual "Survival Guide" for the desert — the supreme source of wisdom both for enduring the wilderness, as well as navigating safely through it to God's promised destination. Click the link above to buy the pack!