The GT Weekend! ~ Wilderness Week 3

March 26, 2022 by Carol Graft Leave a Comment

The GT Weekend!

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!

Worship Through Journaling

1) At times, I’ve thought Joseph deserved some of the treatment he received. His behavior towards his brothers seemed to ask for pushback. I’m guessing that Joseph’s time in the deep pit and Egyptian prison brought him to his senses and closer to Jehovah. I love seeing the favor God continually showered on Joseph, even in “undeserved” hardships. From the pit to being sold, then falsely accused and locked in prison, still God rescued him and gave him the position of second in command in Egypt. Scripture doesn’t answer all the “why’s” of Joseph’s life, but in every situation, no matter how unjust or difficult, we see God teaching Joseph to emphatically trust Jehovah. How do you handle favor? Promotion? Do you let it go to your head or are you humble, choosing to bless the Lord? How do you handle adversity? Hardships? Do you lash out? Blame others? Or do you humbly choose to bless the Lord? In both scenarios we must constantly be on guard regarding our heart attitude. The Lord guards our steps, the Lord pursues our hearts, the Lord will faithfully grow our faith. Trust Him!

2) I can’t imagine how Naomi must have felt. We all have endured loss of one kind or another, or perhaps many losses, but I don’t personally know anyone who has endured such significant, sequential losses as Naomi. Is it any wonder she became bitter after losing her homeland, both sons, and her husband? When devastation hits it’s easy to allow bitterness to swallow you whole. Grief and sadness can blind us to anything positive. Naomi was so consumed by grief that despite the presence of her daughter-in-law, Ruth, it seemed she wasn’t enough. Bereft of husband, sons, and seemingly even Jehovah, Naomi believed she was alone. In truth, God hadn’t left her. When have you felt completely alone? Perhaps your suffering and losses have crowded out the truths you once claimed about God. Perhaps you, like Naomi, believe the Lord is against you. I’ve been here (more than once), fighting against the urge to surrender to the overwhelming feelings of rejection and bitterness. The felt need to tighten down and push our hurt under the rug is powerful, believing lies in the process. Still, truth calls out. Like Naomi, we can trust God has not forsaken us. We can “hold onto hope”.

3) When life feels easy and sweetly good, it’s easy to trust what we already know to be true, about God’s character. It’s easy to pursue Christ through prayer, worship, and service. What happens when we are hit with the unexpected? Consider your heart-response to everyday side steps like a flat tire, running late, or unmet expectations. Do you shirk the choice to worship, or do you submit the difficulty to the Lord? Consider your past or current challenges that are more significant. In what ways have you found yourself losing focus, forgetting truths about God, and walking away from worship? When we begin to disbelieve the truths we once clung to, it’s easy to allow our spiritual disciplines to slip. We skip prayer, disengage from worship, and pull back from serving others. The temptation is to stop focusing on truth and hone in on the source of our pain, but this distraction is exactly what the enemy wants! We must remember Jesus’ promise to remain present with us, then fight the enemy with tried and true weapons of prayer, worship, and service.

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Matthew 8:6-10 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony.”
7 He said to him, “Am I to come and heal him?”
8 “Lord,” the centurion replied, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
10 Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith.

Prayer Journal
Lord, what examples of faith we see in the Scripture that You have preserved! Lord, I confess outright that, while I do believe, how great an increase of faith I desire. Lord, help my unbelief! It seems, Lord, these wilderness seasons in life highlight my disbelief. Teach me to see these as opportunities to learn from You, the gentle, loving Savior.

I am not at all like the leper who runs to You first in order to be healed. (Matthew 8:1-2) I work so hard to fix myself and my own problems before “bothering” You. Lord, I confess my arrogance here!

Neither do I see myself as the faith-filled centurion. (Matthew 8:5-6) Teach me to put what I know to be true into practice in real, everyday life as I pray to you in faith. Help me to declare the truths You’ve taught me in Your word, believe them for myself, and live them out with greater faith.

Worship Through Community

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Worship Through Prayer

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Wilderness Day 15 Wilderness Faith

March 25, 2022 by Michelle Brown Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Acts 1:1-4
Acts 1:12-14
Deuteronomy 8:2-10
Isaiah 53:4-6
Matthew 8

Wilderness, Day 15

Wilderness experiences often leave us feeling far from God.
Yet God is with us and at work in our midst.
He faithfully provides, leads, and humbles us as He reveals our hearts, all while moving us forward toward the fulfillment of His promise to finish His work. (Deuteronomy 8:2-10)

Wilderness waiting doesn’t mean inactivity or wasted time. As we see in the lives of Jesus’ disciples as they awaited the indwelling Holy Spirit, the wilderness teaches us faith, endurance, and dependence on God.

In the forty days after Jesus’ resurrection, He appeared to His disciples, proving He was truly alive. (Acts 1:3) He told them about the Kingdom of God and instructed them on how to live after He ascended to His heavenly throne.

Jesus’ final words to them centered on the promised Holy Spirit:

“[F]or John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days [. . .] you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses [. . .] to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:5, 8)
Jesus returns to heaven. (Acts 1:9-11)
And the disciples enter the wilderness of waiting.

Wow! Can you imagine the conversation between the disciples on the road home?

Is He coming back?
What should we do now?
They were very dependent on Jesus during His earthly ministry, yet now Jesus expected them to take the Gospel to the entire world without Him! For the disciples, this was a major hurdle for persevering faith, a wilderness moment.

Consider our own circumstances, when ministry doesn’t fit with our expectations of how God would further His kingdom. We, too, can find ourselves staring at the sky, wondering what’s next.

Despite moments of confusion and anxiety, the disciples returned to Jerusalem, as Jesus had commanded. There, they “were continually united in prayer, along with the women[.]” (Acts 1:14)

Imagine the disciples remembering the lessons Jesus had taught them on prayer and worship, humility, faith, and community.

The disciples’ first move, therefore, was prayer, shaped by Jesus’ example. Jesus made prayer a priority in His life, modeling it to His disciples. (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 5:16)

Jesus also described true worship, in a shocking conversation with a derided Samaritan woman. (John 4:21-24) The physical location of worship would no longer be important, He explained, putting to rest a generations-old conflict between ethnic groups. Rather, all believers would “worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23)

Another fundamental lesson Jesus taught was the greatness of those who humbly serve. (Luke 22:24-27) In answering a dispute over which disciple would be most glorified in Heaven, Jesus challenged their thinking.

“On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45)

Jesus continually demonstrated servant leadership and humility. The disciples would need these skills to take the Gospel to the world.

Along with reflecting on Jesus’ teachings, the disciples could use their wilderness time to consider the importance of faith.

The disciples had witnessed Jesus restore abundance of life in miracle after miracle.
A centurion’s servant, healed with a word. (Matthew 8:5-13)
A leper, and the disciple Peter’s mother-in-law, healed with a touch. (Matthew 8:1-4, Matthew 8:14-16)
Spiritual and physical healing, again and again, living fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s words, before their eyes, “He himself took our weaknesses and carried our diseases.” (Matthew 8:16-17, Isaiah 53:4)

Yet, in none of these restorations had the disciples’ own lives been at risk.
Until the night a terrible storm arose as Jesus and His disciples were traveling on the sea.
As their boat nearly capsized in the waves, the disciples woke a sleeping Jesus, begging Him for rescue. (Matthew 8:23-27) Jesus calmed the storm, then challenged them to assess their faith.

You see, it’s easy to proclaim faith that God is working in a stranger’s hardship.

The smallness of our faith may not become apparent until the waves surge before our eyes, threatening to sweep the air from our lungs and crush our bones beneath the weight of the sea.

Yet, Jesus calmly reminds, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) Faith enables us to rely on God’s strength to overcome any storm or wilderness moments that tear into our lives.

Such faith would be critical for the disciples to carry out Jesus’ final commission. Now in the upper room, before the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter led them in faith as they waited and prayed.

When the Holy Spirit arrived, Peter, who denied Christ three times only weeks earlier, spoke powerfully about the life and resurrection of Jesus to the masses of Jews who filled Jerusalem. As a result, three thousand people came to faith. (Acts 2)

In the wilderness, we, like the disciples, can learn to prioritize prayer, engage in true worship, humbly serve, and move in the rhythms of faith.
God is faithful, and we can depend on Him, even in the wilderness.

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Wilderness Day 12 Lost, Alone, Forgotten: Digging Deeper

March 22, 2022 by Lori Meeks Leave a Comment

Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Lost, Alone, Forgotten!

The Questions

1) Why Joseph?

2) Why would Joseph tell his brothers about his dreams if he knew they created tension? (verses 4-5)

3) Why did his family even care about his dreams? Why was a dream so offensive? (verses 8-9)

Genesis 37:1-9

Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. ²These are the family records of Jacob. At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought a bad report about them to their father. ³Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age, and he made a long-sleeved robe for him. ⁴When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him. ⁵Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸“Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said. ⁹Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Original Intent

1) Why Joseph?
Joseph was probably thinking the same thing, except he was asking “why me?”. Joseph had no control over where he fell in his family’s birth order or the fact that his father favored him more than his brothers. Yet, here he was, having dreams that seemed to indicate he would hold a position of authority over his brothers. In reality, at least at this point, Joseph’s dreams only seemed to result in harsh treatment and hatred from his family. Honestly, we don’t know, nor is it possible to know, why God chooses to use the people He calls for His purposes. Scripture is full of story after story of God using people who appear disqualified, ill-equipped, sinful, or arrogant. Consider Abraham, David, Peter, and Paul as a handful of examples. Did God use them for mighty work? Yes! Did they begin there? No. Were their lives strewn with stupid choices and disobedience and sin? Yes! Like Joseph, these were not the obvious choice for a huge assignment from God; nonetheless, they were God’s chosen ones. God is supreme and sovereign, and He often works in ways that don’t make sense to anyone else, least of all the person being used. In fact, Isaiah 55:8-9 emphasizes this truth, “My (God’s) thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways.” Joseph and his family likely had more questions than answers as they navigated Joseph’s dreams and tense family drama. Especially when you consider the winding road Joseph would travel to finally see God’s appointed dreams fulfilled.

2) Why would Joseph tell his brothers about his dreams if he knew they created tension? (verses 4-5)
Honestly, I have no idea! Likely, Joseph was simply being a 17-year-old boy who clearly didn’t understand when to keep his mouth shut and not provoke others. Or perhaps, some teenage bravado influenced his decision to push back against his brothers with his dreams of authority over them. However, knowing the end of the story like we do, verbalizing his dreams and documenting them is vitally important to the larger story of God’s chosen people and centrality of the gospel. Joseph sharing his dreams was the tipping point of the dominoes in a way. This one act of seemingly immature judgement led Joseph to being sold into slavery, which brought him into Egypt at just the right time to provide for his family and the whole country. In turn, this action established God’s people in Egypt, providing them a place to flourish for many decades before the next major event of Hebrew slavery, and ultimately, their freedom. All of this pointed far forward to Christ freeing us from the slavery of sin when He was crucified on the cross, taking the punishment we deserved for our sin. When you think it through, Joseph’s decision to share his dreams set much of God’s plan for His people in motion. If you’ve never explored Joseph’s storyline, I encourage you to make time to read through Genesis and Exodus to see how God used Joseph’s life for His glory.

3) Why did his family even care about his dreams? Why was a dream so offensive? (verses 8-9)
In early biblical history, dreams were viewed as divine messages. Prior to Christ’s ascension and the Holy Spirit’s descension into the hearts of Christ-followers, those who feared God didn’t have direct access to Him through the Holy Spirit. God used dreams to communicate with His people before the onset of prophets in the timeline of Israel’s history, but even after the time of the prophets, we still see occasional dreams showing up as God’s method of directing His people. (Matthew 2:13) We know this because some, like Joseph, were also given the ability to interpret dreams. (Genesis 41:12-13) For Joseph’s family to have both a dreamer and an interpreter was kind of a big deal and only served to provide further reasons for Joseph’s brothers to be jealous of him. Apparently, sibling rivalry was alive and well even in biblical times.

Everyday Application

1) Why Joseph?
Isn’t this the question we all have? Why him? Why her? Why me? Jealousy, pride, comparison, fear of being left out or left behind are real struggles with insecurity, identity, and sin that impact us all on different levels. Today, we have the luxury of knowing the end of Joseph’s story. Even if we don’t see the end of our stories and there are a lot of missing pieces from our perspective, we can confidently know God has a plan He will faithfully fulfill. We can choose to trust God when we find either ourselves or others experiencing circumstances that seem to make no sense whatsoever. Personally, there have been times in my life when I was confident God was telling me to do something that made no sense from a human perspective. Perhaps the biggest example was when I clearly heard God tell me to quit my high paying, long term job. This was absolutely senseless from a worldly perspective, but I knew without a doubt this directive had come straight from God. Choosing to follow and obey God during these times can be a lonely place, especially when others don’t understand. I can also tell you from personal experience that deciding to take that step of faith and obey is completely amazing as the Lord will radically grow our faith!

2) Why would Joseph tell his brothers about his dreams if he knew they created tension? (verses 4-5)
I can relate to Joseph and his desire to share his dreams. When I was confident God was leading me to quit my stupid job, there was nothing I wanted more than to share His prompting with others, especially my husband. But, like Joseph’s brothers, he didn’t understand. He didn’t mock or provoke me like Joseph’s siblings; he understood I had been deeply convicted and was willing to support me, but he lacked my personal experience of hearing from the Lord in a real and personal way. By his own admission, there was a tinge of jealousy present as well. He wanted God to tell him the same thing, which didn’t happen for my husband or for Joseph’s brothers. In studying Joseph’s story, we can learn how to respond when friends or family share big dreams or convictions from the Lord with us. Our first responsibility is to come alongside them and help them seek the Lord and His Word together. If hearing from the Lord runs counter to what Scripture teaches, we have a responsibility to lovingly point this out. If dreams and plans do align with biblical principles, we can encourage and support one another, watching to see what God will unfold in their lives for His glory!

3) Why did his family even care about his dreams? Why was a dream so offensive? (verses 8-9)
For people living in the western hemisphere, dreams, visions, and interpretations don’t carry as much weight as they did in ancient cultures. Often, we view dreams as nothing more than neurological stories occurring while we sleep. However, in some cultures, dreams are largely significant and carry heavy spiritual connotations. In eastern cultures, where dream messages are more common, many true followers of Jesus came to Christ through a dream encounter. This should encourage us to see how God uses different means to draw people to Himself. For every dream or vision, we must rely on the truth revealed in Scripture in order to gain trustworthy insights. Only when we view a dream through the lens of God’s Word can we gain solid understanding of God. Whether you’ve had a spiritual dream or not, God speaks to all genuine Christ-followers through His Spirit who lives inside us. In John 14:26 Jesus says, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” Many of us have dreams from God that He has planted in our hearts and souls. These desires are birthed from His Spirit and He guides us to follow these. If you have dreams like this, share them with believing friends, asking them to pray with you for wisdom as you seek the Lord. Many say God doesn’t speak today, but I beg to differ. God speaks, but we often do a poor job of recognizing His voice because we don’t practice listening to Him through reading His word and praying. Psalm 46:10 (ESV) calls us to “Be still, and know that I am God.” James 4:8 instructs, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” Why not make time to be quiet and listen?

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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

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Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

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Wilderness Day 11 Lost, Alone, Forgotten

March 21, 2022 by Amy Krigbaum Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 37:1-11
Genesis 39:21-23
Genesis 50:21-23
Psalm 94:17-19
Matthew 28:16-20

Wilderness, Day 11

Lost, alone, and forgotten.
Discouraged, hurt, and betrayed.
We all experience these along our journeys.

These feelings were all too familiar to another wilderness wanderer, Joseph. Great-grandson of the Hebrew patriarch, Abraham, Joseph was one of 12 sons. More specifically, Joseph was his father’s favorite son, a fact which did little to endear him to his brothers.

Joseph was further divided against his brothers by his special gift of dreams.
Dreams centering on his older brothers, and even parents, serving him. (Genesis 37:1-11) Dreams he enthusiastically shared with his family, without forethought, wisdom, or humility. You see, Joseph wasn’t perfect. Today, we would call him immature or even a brat. Finally, the family dysfunction reached a point where, embittered with hatred against Joseph, his brothers sold him as a slave. (Genesis 37:12-36)

Purchased by a rich Egyptian, Joseph was betrayed, alone, and forgotten. I’m sure Joseph wondered, “Why?” Why the dreams? Why the hatred? Why the pain? Similarly, when we are in our own wilderness, we may ask God, “Why?”

Sometimes, there may be an obvious answer, and we can use that understanding to help us learn, or navigate our way through the trial.

Other times, however, our “why”s are met with silence.
Wrestling with the unknown becomes a part of our wilderness story.

For Joseph, no clear answer was forthcoming.
Yet he continued to cling to God.

In Egypt, “The Lord was with Joseph [. . . and] Joseph found favor with his master.” (Genesis 39:2-4) Unfortunately, this same master would ultimately imprison Joseph for a crime he didn’t commit. (Genesis 39:3-20)

Even in prison, “the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him. He granted him favor with the prison warden” (Genesis 39:21), and soon, all prisoners were under Joseph’s authority. Still, this wasn’t enough to earn his release; he was trapped, with no way out.

Ironically, the same supernatural gift that first thrust Joseph into the wilderness would be the means of his freedom. While in prison, a series of God-empowered dream interpretations took Joseph from the lowest position in Egypt to second-in-command. (Genesis 40, 41) In his new role, Joseph was tasked with storing enough crops to feed the entire country during a subsequent famine. (Genesis 41:46-57)

The famine was the final step in the fulfillment of Joseph’s boyhood dreams, as his brothers found themselves bowing before him with requests for food to sustain their families. (Genesis 42:5-6)

In this moment, possessing all the power to exact revenge and presented with the perfect opportunity to wield it, we see the work of wilderness time in Joseph’s heart.

He extended forgiveness to his family.

“But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result–the salvation of many people. Therefore, don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.’ And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” (Genesis 50:19-21)

At last, Joseph understood the answer to all the “why”s.

Why the dreams?
Why the slavery?
Why the prison?
So Joseph would be in the right place, at the appointed time. God crafted every step to position Joseph in Egypt, at the palace, before the famine, to save many lives.

The nice thing about Joseph’s story is we already know the ending. But, when Joseph was bound to other slaves, stumbling through desert sands on the way to Egypt, he didn’t understand what was happening, or why. He was deep in the wilderness of the unknown.

Our future is unknown to us. We will have wilderness seasons like Joseph. We may not be sold into slavery or tossed in prison, but we will feel lost, alone, and forgotten.
Yet Joseph’s story reminds us God has not forgotten us.

Psalm 94:17-19 declares God’s love is unfailing and He brings us joy. Our circumstances do not define us. We are God’s, and He has not left us alone.

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus concludes the Great Commission by promising, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We may feel left alone in this world by those around us, but the Lord is always with us.

We are not lost; He is leading us.
We are not alone; He is with us.
We are not forgotten; He is working in us and through us.

Wilderness Wanderer, though we may not understand all the “why”s right now, we can hear Joseph’s heart echo across the generations . . . cling to faith . . . find joy . . . embrace hope . . . for God is with us, and He is working out His plan. Even in the wilderness.

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The GT Weekend! ~ Wilderness Week 2

March 19, 2022 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

The GT Weekend!

Worship Through Journaling

1) Israel was wandering in a literal desert and became so fixated on their perceived lack, they completely forgot the power, authority, and compassion of the God who lovingly freed them from 400-year slavery. Later, when Israel would finally cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land, the same God who compassionately cared for every need in the desert, instructed them to build a monument as a visible, tactile reminder of His good care for them. He promised He would provide, and in great abundance, He did exactly as He said He would. Looking at our struggles is easy. Choosing to complain flows effortlessly over our lips, but let’s choose to differently this weekend. Let’s be intentional to tabulate the goodness and mercies of the Lord. Maybe we will even post them on social media or share them with a good friend, our spouse, a child, a pastor, or a neighbor. May our lips declare the goodness of the Lord God who faithfully provides for every need! When we choose rejoicing and decide to set our gaze on the Giver instead of our perceived lack, suddenly the walls don’t seem to press quite as tightly. Rejoice, sisters, rejoice!

2) Set aside. Un-usable. Broken. Purposeless. Barren. Our hearts break as we think through the implications of each of these words in connection with our lives. Some wilderness experiences are more painful than others, but suppose the Lord intends to use each season as a pathway to rely on Him more deeply? For Sarah, the wilderness of her barrenness lasted into her nineties. I know I’ve called out, “How long, Lord?!” in my own seasons long before 90 years have passed! Finally, when the Lord told Sarah she would bear a son, she laughed in utter disbelief. I probably would have too! Despite her blatant doubt, the Lord remained faithful to do and finish the work He intended to do in and through her. How does this reality comfort and encourage you? If you clung insistently to the truth that God is steadfast in His work, would you be able to regain steady footing more quickly in everyday life? Prayerfully ask the Lord to remind you of a few scenarios that tempt you to doubt and question Him. Hold out your disbelief to the Lord and ask Him to anchor you in the truthfulness of His unchanging character!

3) Bethany shared of a wilderness season in her life when her family was caught between a promise and its fulfillment. Every avenue they pursued seemed to dead end; clarity for “next” seemed illusive at best. Which scene from your life best fits this description? Maybe you’ve shared tactics with Bethany as she desperately tried to throw potential solutions at her problems, only to end up more discouraged and lacking answers. If we naturally trusted God instead of ourselves, we wouldn’t need seasons of wilderness for God’s Spirit to teach us to depend on Him. But we do inherently trust ourselves. The Lord lovingly leads us into Wilderness Wanderings so we will stop trusting our failing humanity and instead place our faith on the unshakable God. Choosing faith in God over us requires much more time and practice than we would like to think. Consider doing something small and tangible every day to remind you to choose faith in God over relying on yourself. Maybe it’s memorizing a new Scripture or setting an alarm on your phone to pause and pray. Or maybe it’s simply drawing a heart on the inside of your wrist and with every glance you can remember to trust His heart over yours. Choosing Christ will always reap the greatest rewards!

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Exodus 33:18-22 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.” He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.” The Lord said, “Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock, and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

Prayer Journal
Around me, whether I’m currently in a desert wilderness, being pressed on all sides, or enjoying the dance of delightful days, You remain constant. My praise can rise to You regardless of the rhythm of my everyday life. Moses stood on the precipice of leading Your people deeper into the wilderness. So many unknowns stretched before him, and surely fear swirled around him, yet he knew his steadfast, anchoring hope was found in You. Lord, I ask You to cultivate this heart response to wilderness seasons in me. When I sense fear rising and my circumstances shaking, teach my lips to plead like Moses, “Please, let me see Your glory!”.

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Wilderness Day 10 Here To Help

March 18, 2022 by Bethany McIlrath 2 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Samuel 16:1-13
1 Samuel 18
1 Samuel 24:1-15
Matthew 4:8-10
Psalm 46:10-11

Wilderness, Day 10

On any given day, my internet browser tabs featured Indeed, Zillow, Google Maps, and Bible Gateway.
We were in a wilderness.
The season we’d been in was ending, but we had no idea of our next.

I’d like to say I waited patiently for God’s leading, but truthfully, my frequent visits to those tabs proved otherwise. I believed God had a purpose and a plan, but I thought He needed help fulfilling that purpose.

Sometimes, we try to help God along when we mistake a wilderness season for aimlessness. We’re not alone.
Sarah tried to fulfill God’s promises through Hagar and Ishmael. (Genesis 16)
Bewildered by Jesus’ arrest, Peter offered his assistance with a sword to an ear. (Matthew 26:47-54)

Israel’s king, David, faced the same temptation of treating his wilderness season as a maze to be escaped in order for God’s will to be done.

It started with a promise.
The prophet, Samuel, anointed David king as a young man, signifying God’s promise he would reign over Israel. (1 Samuel 16:1-13)

Then came the problem.
Saul grew jealous of David and attempted to kill him. (1 Samuel 18) Not just once, either. Saul persistently persecuted David, even as David made no attempt to usurp his promised throne. Saul didn’t like God’s will, so he fought against it, chasing David . . . as if he could change God’s promises.

So David entered the wilderness, figuratively and literally. Stuck between God’s promise and the life-threatening problem of a murderous king, David spent years fleeing and hiding. Nothing was settled, nothing was certain. He wandered about in God’s will, and there was great temptation to find a way out.

We see the temptation most clearly in 1 Samuel 24:1-15. Saul entered a cave to relieve himself. David and his fighting men were already there, hidden away. The men told David, “Look, this is the day the Lord told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.’” (1 Samuel 24:4) It would have been so easy to attack Saul, take the throne, and fulfill God’s promise to David by force. One could even argue it was self-defense, since Saul was there to kill David without cause!

But David didn’t.

“He said to his men, ‘As the Lord is my witness, I would never do such a thing to my lord [King Saul], the Lord’s anointed.’” (1 Samuel 24:6)

David was God’s anointed too, but even in the desperation and temptation of the wilderness, he recognized a way out wasn’t God’s will. He left it up to God to fulfill His own promises. No shortcuts. No “helping” God along. No hurrying God’s perfect timing.

This wilderness season proved great preparation for David when he became king. He’d learned to wait on God’s will, to not fight a battle God hadn’t called him into, and to leave the building of the temple to his son as God instructed, to name a few examples.

We see David’s wisdom and trust in God’s will being fulfilled God’s way throughout his kingship. When David died, having reigned as Israel’s greatest king and whose family line would lead to the Messiah, he could look back on the testimony of his life and rest in full assurance God keeps His promises. (Psalm 37:25-31)

Jesus, our promised Messiah, lived out God’s will, God’s way.
Even in His own wilderness experience.

In His wilderness, Jesus was tempted by Satan, who said, “I will give you all these things [the kingdoms of the world and their splendor] if You will fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9)

Satan tempted Jesus with a quick escape to fleethis wilderness and avoid the horror of the cross. Satan lured Jesus to skip ahead to His reign without enduring the pain the wilderness required in order for Christ to become our Great High Priest, able to identify with us in all our weaknesses. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

Jesus said no, and, like David,
persisted in waiting for God to lead Him out of the wilderness and fulfill
His promises,
His way,
in His timing.

He was prepared, having overcome temptation, to say, “My time has not yet arrived” (John 7:6) over and over. He was able to say “no” when a huge crowd of followers attempted to forcefully make Him king. (John 6:15) As a result, Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, making a way for us to be reconciled to God, all according to the plan of the Father. (John 5:19)

David and Jesus’ examples of waiting in the wilderness encourages us to “Stop fighting, and know that [He] is God” (Psalm 46:10-11). We can resist the temptation to “help” fulfill God’s promises apart from God.

Having moved multiple times, I can clearly see the difference it makes when I count on God to lead me instead of all those Google tabs! Be assured, sisters, He has, and always will, bring us where He wonderfully intends without any “help” from us.

When we feel stuck in the wilderness, caught between the promise and the fulfillment, let’s wait with teachable spirits as we turn our hearts toward the One who will lead us home!

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