Facing the desert

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Facing the desert

“Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, ‘Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, the country which the Lord defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.’ Therefore they said, ‘If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.” (Numbers 32:1-5)

When the Israelites left Egypt, they were aware that they had to journey to a land promised to their forefathers. They weren’t meant to live anywhere else. God specifically wanted them to travel through the desert. The desert is where you learn about yourself; there, you can count on no one else but God. You live in total dependence on Him. But this is where many people fail, because their faith is emotional/religious. They become like those who doubted God. He swore to Moses that they would not enter the Promised Land.

The journey was supposed to last three years, but it lasted 40 years because that doubtful generation had to die in the desert. We currently live in the desert here on earth, which is why many Christians face hardships.

“Heaven is the Promised Land. Being in the desert keeps us in faith and on fire. Paul said we should thank God in everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Look at hardships positively. The tribe of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh approached Moses and told him about how much they had prospered in the desert. They requested to stay behind instead of crossing the Jordan River. Some people have faith to prosper in the desert, which is not wrong, but they become accommodated with their victories.

They put all their strength into achieving blessings, but forget the main goal: salvation (the Promised Land). They despise it and become relaxed in their spiritual lives until their connection with God breaks.

God goes to the bottom of the list. Moses granted the tribes’ request because they insisted. But later on they were defeated by kings, taken as slaves and their whereabouts now remains a question mark in Israel’s history. Prioritise your soul above all else.

God bless you.

Bishop Randal Brito
bishop@uckgnew.org

10 Comments

  • Reply

    Barbara Augustus

    21st September 2015

    I am aware that when i'm in the dessert i tend to be like a baby clinging to its mother; I seek God more, talking to him, asking him questions , listening and analysing myself. Therefore i can see how important it is to go through the dessert and my expereience is when attempting to take a short cut or failing to go through at all, only makes the journey longer and harder. The dessert is a horrible place to be; but if this is what it takes for me to be a better Christian and in the end achieve my salvation; Its worth accepting.

  • Reply

    selina sithole

    21st September 2015

    AMEN

  • Reply

    Mzukisi

    30th September 2015

    Strong message and I learnt that when I am in a desert, its where God look at how much faith and strong I have during the hardship times. In the desert its where I experience the power of God. Amen!

  • Reply

    Abongile

    6th October 2015

    I can imagine having peace in the desert, an assurance that the living God who has no flaws is WITH US and is preparing us to Enter in a promised land heaven. May we keep these lovely message in our hearts. Thank you Bishop

  • Reply

    Dian Hardley

    7th October 2015

    It's in the desert that i will show my faith and trust in God. It's always easy to talk words from the mouth but the reality is where is my action? The desert is a horrible place to be but that is where i stripe myself nake to God and throw myself at His feet because more importantly it's my salavation i need to secure with Him.

  • Reply

    Thandeka

    16th March 2016

    Ive learnt that to be in the desert ,i can not focus only on what is material ,but to fight daily to receive the greatest gift so that i may enter the promised land ,that is why my attitude has changed, im always in the church every wednesday to feed my soul.:D:Dthay u for this message BISHOP.

  • Reply

    Sophi

    1st April 2016

    When crossings my one deserts is was always really hard, but in the end I always found myself thanking God, because we've become closer, more intimate. I became more dependant on Him, more humble towards Him, and yet I' ve always prosper on desert. So it is a very narrow road to keep going and not lose the vision, the salvation of my soul, we have to deny ourselves and go evangelize instead of enjoying our good life quality for example. We are taken to cross the desert for purification of ourselves and of our faith because like Israel was taken out of egypt into to the desert for their one purification, to loose the dirt and costumes they observed in Egypt. For us here it will always be the same in order to reach out the promised land, BUT we need to win and move, we can not stay in one desert and wait, we need to move forward, that is the journey to go ahead, and only the Presence of God can make us do just that, like Moses ask the presence of God to go with them , after being delivered from our Egypt we need God's Presence immediately with us otherwise we won't make it in the desert, this Presence is the key factor.

  • Reply

    gemma

    11th May 2016

    Very inspiring message Bishop yes I face in a desert and hardship into my life. When I face desert I see my self that God is comfort me my desert is to overcome and to glorify God name and now I want more seeking the Gods I spirit my goal is to promise land in my salvation.thank you Bishop God bless.

  • Reply

    tracy

    19th May 2016

    facing the desert can be compared to facing problems. Our faith is tested when we go through problems. It is then when we must stand firm and seek God more...

  • Reply

    Charmeka Gray

    26th May 2016

    I understood that us going deserts are needed to build our faith. It's inevitable that we will all go through one but what we should never let happen; learning from the tribes that stayed behind. Don't become accustom to what we are achieving or have achieved. We must move on forward, remembering that conquering salvation is a daily battle that's our main goal.

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