Called In The Desert

You Are Like Moses In More Ways Than You Know

Like Moses, you have been called out of the wilderness, for you know who your Father in Heaven is. I am the Lord God of Israel -the great I AM that I AM. I called you from birth, from conception. I knit you together for a purpose beyond your comprehension to be fulfilled in the here and now (Psalms 139:13-28). Destiny in life is lived moment by moment, day by day.

Many of My children are so future oriented they miss the present or they are so past focused they’re paralyzed and do not move. This is not to be. I want each and every one positioned to receive My ever-flowing fresh streams of Manna. You see, My every thought is on you without exception (Psalms40:5). Not even one heartbeat goes unnoticed or unattended by Me. Each one is ready to be heard by you.

So, as you find yourself in the wildernesses of life, even though there is a portion of fruitfulness as there was with Moses, it is not your permanent home. The wildernesses of your life are where I speak kindly to you-where I open up the skies above you, causing the stars to shine with great clarity. It is the place of burning bushes and rumbling mountains.

Moses had a family, a job and a position. In spite of this, his heart was always drawn to the mountain of My habitation. He was drawn to the rumblings of the desert which foretold of days to come. What if he had ignored the signs, the stars, and the mountains as they shouted in their own way of coming days? I would have still worked among the chambers of his mind, his heart. You see, I had a plan and the determination to carry it out. Will I do any less for you? NO!

Though he was hidden away for a time, his heart was not hidden from Me nor was I hidden from him. I spent many a moment, many a night whispering into the very depths of his being, long before he came to realize the fullness of what was taking place. I am always on the scene before you are aware of My presence, laying the groundwork, the foundation of purpose. I do not have to be convinced, but sometimes you do.

Like Moses, you have been hidden away and you have learned much from your communion with Me, and now a time comes to learn much more by some on the job training. You have learned much and many need to know what you know. Prepare your heart to be launched from the desert to the mountain. The mountain is rumbling even now. Can you hear it?

Don’t Get Comfortable In The Wilderness

Beloved, never get comfortable in the wilderness places of your life. And remember, they are not to be considered as places of abandonment or rejection, but as temporary places of residence conducive to experiencing Me in yet undiscovered ways. When you are in the wilderness you find out who I am and who you are. And yes, you will find out who you are not. Identity is forged in the desert in a way it cannot be accomplished any other place.

Unlike Moses, you may not be living in the palace of a king when the call comes and I woo you into the place of tender love and kind words. It is of utmost importance that you not give in to any thoughts planted by the enemy aimed at convincing you I have forsaken you in any way. Do not let him plant these thoughts. Take them captive to the obedience of Christ and embrace the identity I sacrificed My life for. I have not forgotten one promise or one plan I have for you or for your family. As always, My plans for you are for a future and a hope.

The time of the burning bush always comes in some fashion to all who find Me and love Me. Peer daily into the fire of My presence and you will hear My voice calling you, directing you in the way you should go. I know each and every path, hidden or otherwise, necessary for the progression of your journey. Trust Me.

Make no excuses and believe no lies, only submit to Me. Resist the devil and he will flee. Remember, I always back you up in all I ask you to do. Be quick to respond with a heart of complete trust. You see, obedience is the fruit of trust. Trust in My true nature. Trust in My incorruptible, everlasting, enduring, all encompassing and faithful love. The wilderness is not your home. However, it is your launching pad. Get ready.

Success Is The Fruit Of Your Wilderness

Beloved, success in your life is the only option. It is the only alternative. There is a path you must follow out of each and every wilderness of life. Each one is unique and specially crafted for you and no one else. The enemy loves to come with lies and deceit to convince you that if I truly loved you I wouldn’t allow such things to take place-that I would banish all wilderness experiences.

Therefore, do not doubt, fear or have unbelief. Each are part satan’s arsenal, part of his tactics and they are enemies of your destiny. They are the trio sent by the enemy to rob success, attaching themselves to the failures of the past. They attach themselves to visible circumstances in order to persuade you otherwise and open your heart to deception.

The greatest deception the enemy longs to impart through too much introspection is to persuade you that your past is indicative of your future. The Father knows your heart and has heard your confession and asks, “What failures?” They are separated from you as far as the East is from the West. They are no more.

It is time to move on and leave the past behind. I have. The only reason your past comes up with Me at all is in order to set you free from the hindrances and mindsets it has formed in you-mindsets which prevent you from moving on.

Therefore, acknowledge My plans for you. Acknowledge My complete forgiveness and embrace your identity as an ambassador of the Kingdom. It is time for the desert to bloom for I have come to you like sweet spring rains. This desert is no more. Just believe.

Victory Is Born From Burning Bushes

Out of the fires of life come My directives. Out of the fire of refinement comes the word GO! He has anointed you to set the captives free (Isaiah 61:1). The anointing is in you-it is on you for this purpose. Have faith in Me. Have faith and know I will back up anything and everything I have promised you. I would never ask you to do something just to watch you try, all the while withholding MY power as you fail. How foolish this would be.

Would I say you can do all things in Christ who strengthens you, and then abandon you to do it in the arm of the flesh (Philippians 4:13)? NO! Would I say forget what is past and press on to your high calling in Christ Jesus and at the same time constantly remind you of all past inadequacies and failed attempts (Philippians 3:12-13)? NO! It shall never be, so make no excuses. Since I have not condemned you, why should you condemn your own self? Don’t! It isn’t worth all the time and effort you spend on doing so and plants wrong seeds in your heart.

The time has come for you to move out of all comfortable places. Don’t trust in your own ability or lack of. Either is dangerous and expresses some form of pride. The time has come to find the captives and set them free. You are qualified because I live in you. You are My handiwork (Ephesians 2:10). Knowing My mercies are new every morning, press on to victory. I am on your side regardless.

Set The Captives Free

Like Moses you must now arise and go! Go to the captives; go to your neighbor, your friends. Don’t look back. Don’t delay. Fear not for I am with you, My beloved. You are the perfect one for the job ahead.

You might ask, “Where are those held captive that I am to minster to?” They are everywhere you look. There are many in the wilderness waiting for you. Many of My children languish away there, while others are comfortable to stay where they are because they like what they know. Often times it is easier to stay in a place you know because fear of the unknown levies more power than the desire to change. Keep this in mind as you share with those I send you to and be patient as I am patient. Listen attentively and I will give you strategies and blueprints to help them overcome this great fear which is often birthed out of time of failure. Many failures rob hope and hope deferred makes the heart sick. Have a good bedside manner and you will be amazed.

So many need to come to the revelation of who their Father is. I am giving you the wisdom in this area and enabling you to release revelation that will overcome their misconceptions based on wrong earthly examples. Once again, listen attentively and you will know exactly what to say and do. Just as many or more have never known the Lord Jesus at all. They live in the kingdom of the world. Don’t be afraid of the world and don’t endeavor to be so spiritual they can’t relate to you. Remember, their eyes are blinded to the truth and love overcomes. Be real! Be like Me.

Be an example to them and lead them in the way they should go. Tune your heart to hear My voice through much time with Me and the result will be a flowing stream of life. Rivers of living water will flow from you into the dry deserts of many lives. You will hear My voice say go to this person or that one. Sensitivity to Holy Spirit makes you sensitive to others. Give Me time- receive wisdom and revelation, then GO!

Who Is This Coming Up Out Of The Wilderness?

The truth of My Word and the truth of who I am in you will set you free to believe and embrace your purpose at any given moment. How can you embrace purpose as a whole unless you understand its unfolding? I knew what I was coming to do way before I laid My head down to sleep in a manger.

If you do not know where you are going, how will you ever know when you get there? This is part of the frustration suffered by many who love Me. Their faces are always set to the future without recognition of the present and how it relates to the unfolding of destiny. Who you meet, what you do, how you act or react are all doors to another level, to another day. When you understand this you will embrace the moments at hand as cherished opportunities.

All I am telling you is for your own good and the good of those I have planned to intersect your life with. I AM that I Am and I do what I say. I am neither a man that I should lie nor the son of man that I should repent (Numbers 23:19). Have I not said it? Will I not do it? Treasure the lessons I have taught you in the desert experiences of your life and remember how I burned and still burn with passion for you.

Remember with a grateful and thankful heart all the times I took you aside and spoke kindly to you, even when all visible circumstances said you didn’t deserve it. Yes, you must remember and judge not for mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:3). Be patient and gracious for I am patient and gracious with you. Lean upon Me and let us walk out of the wilderness, for you are My beloved and the burning bush of My heart is aflame for you. Arise and go. Share the flame. Be a fire starter and bring to life the deserts of men’s hearts.

Remember, I Chose You First, Now Go!

As you go into the wilderness areas of another man’s life and heart you must first remember all I have done for you and shed any of your own self-sufficiency. All I have done for you is meant to create a total dependency on Me and enables humility and reliance on Me and Me alone.

It is from this place of learning to trust Me that has taught you and now commissions you to move out beyond any previous self-assessment once limited by fear and lack of self-worth.

Let repentance and humility be your clothing, for I oppose the proud and give grace to the humble. Staying in the wilderness beyond the designated time is not a sign of humility. Humility is in leaving all the while knowing I am your sufficiency. Walk according to the Spirit and all will be well.

Arise, leave the wilderness behind and go into the world surrounding you, sharing what I, the Lord God, have done for you. Do the works I prepared for you to do before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 3:10). Your world may be as close as your neighbor or on the other side of the world. There is no limit nor is there any place of less importance than another. Anywhere there are people is the place to be. There is no need to go far to find someone who is hurting. They are everywhere.

Be encouraged, I consider you the best I have to offer. I should know. After all, I made you according to My image. You are My hands and feet. Remember you did not choose Me, I chose you. So, arise and go!!!

Prayer

Lord, You have called me from birth. In fact, You knew my frame, my days and my calling before the worlds were formed. Nothing takes You by surprise or extinguishes Your patience on my behalf. Each beat of my heart pulsates through Yours and each thought is important to You. Your thoughts toward me are more than can ever be numbered. They are too wonderful to contain. Even when I am faithless You are faithful, working out Your ways and plans before I am ever aware of them. Your kindness is beyond comprehension and Your dedication to the very essence of my purpose is astounding.

Forgive me for ever getting comfortable with status quo in any aspect of my life. I refuse to listen to any lie of the enemy telling me I am abandoned or rejected when the heavens feel like brass. Your ear is always attuned to my voice. It is even attuned to my each and every thought. So many times You have spoken kind, tender-hearted words of love to me when I didn’t deserve them. Your kindness is leading me to complete repentance.

Lord, there is no other option than success. It is the only alternative. All other possibilities have left my heart shallow and without motivation. You motivate my heart and I respond to each and every call-each and every whisper of Your voice. You direct my steps while making the rough ways smooth and the crooked paths straight. You have planned a way for me and me alone. I refuse to be distracted by the lies and ramblings of the enemy who seeks to draw me to the broad way. I respond to the conviction of Holy Spirit and not to any tendency to be introspective to the point of constant faultfinding in my own life. My failures, my past are separated from me. I arise and leave the past behind with all its hindering mindsets.

Reveal any wicked thought process left in me which causes me to stumble and fall along the way. I will nail it to the Cross and embrace a future and a hope in You. My desert is blooming among showers of sweet spring rain. I believe and with a heart of humble praise, I thank You for the fiery times of my life. Without them I would have never learned of Your faithfulness. These lessons enable me to share with an honest heart the power of Your name. Your anointing has been refined in me and is being refined each and every time I surrender to the burning bushes of Your presence.

I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me at all times. I am not alone, but endued with power from on high. I am the temple of the Living God. I press on no matter what to my high calling in Christ Jesus. I am not afraid and I make no excuses. There is no condemnation in Christ and I do not condemn myself. Instead I confess my sin and I am forgiven. I am cleansed of all unrighteousness. The Lord is my stronghold and I do not lean on the arm of the flesh nor do I cower in corners as one who is unworthy to claim the prize. He has made me worthy and I press on to the victory. I am on the side of the Lord and He is on mine.

Lord, I stand up in the place You have called me. I arise and I go wherever You send me. I will not delay. I will not look back, nor will I fear, for You have equipped me from the foundations of the world to walk in this day. May I be strong and courageous when I encounter people along the way who need to be set free. Your Word says I hold the thoughts and intents of Your heart; therefore, I can hear and perceive Your Words of tender-hearted mercy and grace for the hurting and dying in the deserts of life. I receive Your wisdom, revelation and truth and my heart listens patiently for I am like You. My life is an example in word and deed because You have healed me and made me whole. I hear Your voice and I do not follow another. I am sensitive to Holy Spirit and to others. Yes, I receive revelation and wisdom and I GO!! Amen

Reflect and Journal

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me is your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.” (Psalms 139:13-28 NIV)

1. In what ways have you been so future oriented that you have missed the glories of the present with all its lessons and benefits?
2. Have you disqualified yourself in any way due to unfaithfulness, busyness, fear, doubt or unbelief?
3. Reflect on Him working within the very foundations of your heart and life with endless determination regardless of which you are, where you are or what you might be doing?
4. In what ways has the Lord been changing how you see yourself or forging His identity in you through the things you have been experiencing?
5. Take some time to gaze upon Him, to peer into the burning bush of His heart and record the free-flowing stream of His thoughts about you.
6. In what ways do you find yourself becoming introspective to the point it is detrimental and inhibits the true convicting power of Holy Spirit which comes without guilt or shame?
7. What particular shortcomings or failures has the enemy been pulling out of his arsenal to use against you?
8. In light of the above Word, what are you going to do with the enemy’s threatening tactics? If any of the fiery darts he sends your way have any merit because you haven’t yet confessed, repented or forgiven, do so and pull the rug out from under him.
9. Reflect on the dry areas of your life in need of spring rain and agree with the Word. Receive your spring rain by faith. Take time to imagine Him pouring into those places. Selah
10. Have you ever felt He asked you to do something and then left you hanging? Take time to examine your heart in this and forgive Him for any perceived failures on His part.
11. In turn, have you held on to unforgiveness toward your own self for not fulfilling something you told the Lord you would do? Simply ask for forgiveness and move on. He is waiting for you to do this so you can press on toward the prize of your high calling. Remember, there is no condemnation in Him.
12. He gives you the desire to obey them and the ability to carry out the very desires He gave you. How does this perspective, this truth, change everything related to what He has called you to be and do? Selah
13. Are there people in your life the Lord has been directing you to?
14. Have you been afraid to share what He is asking you to?
15. Father is here to give you revelation and wisdom. Don’t be shy. Ask. What is He saying?
16. Have you ever thought about the present moment you live in being a door to the next level, the next move of God in your life? Selah
17. Record the Word He has spoken kindly to you in the midst of your wilderness, your desert.
18. In what ways has He been gracious to you, patient with you, and how are you responding? Express your gratefulness.
19. What has the Lord used to teach you complete dependency on Him?
20. Take time and settle down for a few moments and begin to thank Him for what He has done and what you have learned. Faith will grow in your heart when you do.
21. Reflect on the statement, “I consider you the best I have to offer.”
22. Write what you hear Him say about you personally in reference to the above statement and be encouraged. He loves you and wants to share how He feels about you in a unique and personal way.