“…Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track…” (Proverbs 3.6 MSG).
Moses led God’s people out of slavery into the wilderness, so they could learn to hear God’s voice. All of us are in some form of bondage–a way of believing and living that is not God’s best. God must lead us into the wilderness– a transition that helps us hear Him– so we can step into our Promise Land.
What happens in the wilderness is a three-step process that opens the way for God’s Spirit (the Holy Spirit) to be unleashed in our lives, so we can hear from Him every day.
First, we are thrown.
Second, we are broken.
Third, we are able to listen.
Water represents the Holy Spirit and there was a lack of it in the desert, which caused the people to cry out to God. They had to learn to lean on Him and listen to His voice in the wilderness. When we leave our bondage, we too lack the fullness of God’s Spirit in our lives. So God must throw us and break us, so we learn how to hear Him. Then, all He needs is to speak and our ears are open.
First, Moses threw a tree into the bitter water to make it sweet.
“So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink…” (Exodus 15.25 NLT).
Many times it feels like God throws us, so He can turn our bitterness into sweet. We live our days so accustomed to personal bondage that God has to literally throw us into new circumstances to get our attention. Loss of a job, bad medical report, a cheating spouse, a wayward child — all throw us into what feels like chaos, but God is ready to catch us in the pools of His grace. The Wood of the Cross turns our bitterness into something sweet.
Read the rest by purchase my book, Reframing: 40 Days to Refresh Your Life, on Amazon.
Leave a Reply