February 17, 2021 CAC Living Water Devotional : Topic – WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE IN LIFE (1)
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LIVING WATER CAC DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 – Ash Wednesday
WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE IN LIFE (1)
Read: Deuteronomy 8:2-5
Deuteronomy 8:2-5 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.
MEMORISE: And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you could keep His commandments or not (Deuteronomy 8:2).
EXPOSITION
Every child of God goes through wilderness experiences in life, at one time, or the other. After Isreal passed through the Red Sea, she went through 40 years of wilderness experience. After Jesus passed through baptism, he was led into the wilderness (Mk. 1:9-13). The Church of God is going through the wilderness experience in these end times. Sometimes, we shout, but no one hears us. We speak, but no one listens.
Wilderness is not simply a sandy place demanding more stamina. It is a space far away from ordered land. For Isreal, it is an arena of chaos, like the darkness before creation, it is ‘formless and void’ and without a hovering wind (Gen. 1:2). In the wilderness, one is striped of many things: companionship, comfort, riches etc. It is a humbling experience:… to humble you and test you.
Let us compare and contrast the wilderness experience of the Patriarchs in Genesis and that of the Isrealites in Exodus (Gen. 12:1-4; cf. Exod. 3:7-10). Both were promised by God to take them somewhere. However, the wilderness wandering were a surprise to Isreal. This is not the promise in Egypt, we shall possess the land of Canaan!’ On the contrary, they were surprised that they had certain things to go through! But, does it mean that God does not see when we pass through our wilderness experiences in life? Of course, He does! That is why there is a sense of Having Nothing, yet Lacking Nothing’ in all wilderness experiences of the children of God. Anywhere and anytime, He wants to lead His children (Ex. 13:17-21). Relax, He is in charge.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Praise the name of the Lord for His good plans for your life, even when things seem tough for you.
2. Praise Him for His presence with you in your current wilderness experiences.
3. Pray for all children of God going through hard times in one way or the other, as wilderness experiences, ask for the grace not to falter or fail God.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY Leviticus 11:11 – 13:19; Matthew 27:50 – 28:5.