in the desert

A lot of things go on in the desert or the wilderness in GOd's Word. Time and time again someone wanders off into the wilderness, into nothingness away from all human, earthly influence and it's like magic, they have a life changing experience with God. We see them change drastically from who and what they were into intruments finely tuned for the war against sin and the lost. God uses times of clear thinking and lack of outside influences to change our hearts and our outlooks.
Think about it, Joseph was dropped into a pit in the wilderness by his brothers which started his 13 year journey that culminated in his being a ruler in egypt. David wrote this Psalm while in exile in the desert of Judah. David was trained to become a shepherd in the wilderness by fighting off wild animals to prepare him to keep his sheep safe. Elijah learned the main principles of spiritual leadership in teh desert of Gilead. Jesus was tempted for 40 days and nights in the desert. How could we forget how God broke down and changed the Israelites in the wilderness for years.
Each of these are examples of God using desert or wilderness settings to set in place His desires for the lives of His leaders. Every single situation is ordained for God's glory, and by God for His people's growth. We studied in Acts yesterday as Paul and Silas were in the dungeon of a jail, shackled to teh wall, after having been beaten and God used this opportunity to show them all that they had to be thankful for and to empower them spiritually.
Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water"
Take away creature comforts and have an experience with God that will change your life for the better. Interesting concept, what do we do today that brings about these changes, hmmmm, let me think. Ah yes, youth camps do this. We take the kids away from their home life, away from school, work whatever else there is and we put them up for a week in a foreign place. We inendate them with worship, Bible studies and God driven experiences and presto! They are changed. As adults we need to make sure we take the opportunity to shut everything out, to get away from earthly influence and to focus on our relationship with GOd. If we do this, we will grow spiritually, if we don't do this many times we hinder ourselves. Even in our quiet times and devotions we need to make sure the tv is off, that we are completely shutting out the world around us or we will be wasting our time.
So look for wilderness experiences, and understand that when you have nothing, that is when you most appreciate having GOd.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!