In His infinite mercy, God pulls us into desert spaces.
Tag: sanctification
God gave Ezekiel an idea of the challenge He was calling him to.
There is no corner of our being that He is content to exclude.
If we live in the wilderness long enough, we’ll eventually see it bloom.
Our God is helping us through that long, awkward stage between sinner and saint.
In seasons of crisis, we can choose to listen to proven voices. Scripture is the most proven voice of all. We go with the Word instead of our feelings. We follow God instead of our gut. And God promises, the very best is still around the bend.
This scripture reminds us: we are being renovated. There is a great transformation taking place in our soul. A great deal of it is immediate upon salvation, but we continue to cooperate with the Spirit of God toward complete sanctification.
This verse in Joshua makes me think about my collecting years versus my assigned task. I am not looking to conquer Texas or unseat any local rulers, but my battles are just about as bloody. They lie within. I consider the size and scope of my heart and soul and I know that there is still a lot of ground to be taken.
God was inviting His people to live at a high level of differentiation and experience a great benefit: His nearness. He wanted His people to be secure in their sense of belonging to a a holy God and dramatic in their outward witness. Differentiation has everything to do with identity and purpose: God had given them both.
The forty designated stops in the wilderness afforded the Israelites time to learn live as sons and daughters of the living God. Similarly, we are transformed along our trek.