Wilderness

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5 

There was a point in the Israelites’ journey to the promised land that the people ran out of water. The sun was beating down on them, and the children of Israel murmured against Moses. When you go through the wilderness, what’s inside you will come out. And complaining and murmuring were inside of them. Complaining came out of them, but Moses cried out to the Lord. They complained to Moses, and Moses talked to God. 

So Moses prayed, and God provided them with water. But when they tasted what they thought was the end of the trial, it was so bitter they could not even drink it. 

Nothing affects your life more than when you think a problem is over, and then it gets worse. It’s like the person who believes in healing who gets the opposite of what they believed in when they go to the doctor.

When Naomi lost her family, she said, “Don’t call me beautiful anymore.” Her name meant beautiful. She said, “Call me bitter, for I’ve been through so much. I’m just a bitter woman.” Bitterness is when you’re not looking forward to anything. It is when all hope seems to be gone. You don’t want to go to church when bitterness has gotten in your spirit. Everything is wrong with everything. You become angry and on edge. And the Israelites tasted the bitter water and began to cry.  

God didn’t respond to the wilderness, the thirst, or the bitter words. But He responded to the cry of His people. If there’s anything that will soften the heart of God, it’s when you get broken enough to cry out to God. Job said, I cried, and the Lord delivered me. Jonah said I cried out to the Lord in the belly of the fish, and the Lord delivered me. The three Hebrew children cried out to God in the fiery furnace.

And when the devil says you can’t make it and that you’ll die in the wilderness, there’s one thing you can always do. Cry out unto the Lord. Life is going to give you some bitter water. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” 

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