THE DESERT: WHEN GOD IS SILENT

We all struggle with the difficult seasons of Christian life. Far from the mountaintop lie valleys of despair, and beyond, vast desert wastelands where God seems far off and we feel we’ve lost our bearing... missed the turn sign on The Way. Desert experiences can be a spiritual banquet for the willing Christian. Differing from the valley where adversity finds our address, and the mountain top where the presence of God prevails, in the desert there is no “still small voice”, there is no voice at all.

Elijah’s desert experience reminded him not to fear, that God was still The Boss and in control. David’s desert experience reminded him that God had not left him or forsaken him, and to put his faith in God, not in the experience. Our Lord had two desert experiences. The first, His forty day temptation in the wilderness, tested and approved His heart, that the enemy had no place or access in Him, and He “returned in the power of the Spirit.”  The second was in the garden of Gethsemane where our Lord experienced the extreme anxiety of separation from God at the worst possible time. The enemy attempted to crush His will to obedience... and failed: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Although scripture highlights the experiences specific to each case, it is probable these experiences were shared by all:

*Fear not, for I AM with you, and I AM in control. *I will never leave you or forsake you, so have faith in God. *Give no place to the devil. Be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. * God’s will must be endured, and therefore can be – God’s will can always be endured!

The desert is an opportunity to learn more about God and ourselves. Left to our own devices we would never leave the temple, never venture into the barren desert wilderness. God speaks to us in many different ways we fail to recognize when basking in His presence. In the desert we begin to “see”... perceive, with the eyes of the Spirit. The lessons of the desert experience are similar, though wrapped individually for each of us.   That we are never ever alone and have nothing to fear, for God is in control. That we must plow up the fallow ground in our heart and sow it with God’s word, leaving no access point for the enemy to gain entry. That we must be filled and continually refilled with the Holy Spirit... God’s power in us, willing and doing of His good pleasure. And, that we must will to do His will, be obedient, for God’s will is purposeful – He’s a good good Daddy – and can always be endured. God told Elijah “Go back the way you came”: Take a trip back through your desert absorbing the experience completely then carry on God’s work. The primary reason for the desert experience, the critical lesson, is, after all, trust, our overwhelming need to totally trust God in all matters of life and death – in all matters... period – for there is nothing that trust in God cannot defeat... nothing! 

“GO BACK THE WAY YOU CAME”

IS GOD A RESPECTOR OF PERSONS?

The Bible interprets itself, using the context of verses and related passages to explain itself. The question at hand, “Is God a respecter of persons”, is discussed in seven related passages where the context in each passage is either Salvation, Judgment or Rewards, which explains the application and intention of this precept. It makes perfect sense and accords with the whole council of God that Salvation, Judgment and Rewards would be universal precepts applicable to all saints. Therefore, God is no respecter of persons when it comes to Salvation, Judgment, and Rewards. Except for these three areas, of course God is a respecter of persons: God is at liberty to deal with us differently, individually and uniquely. He created us as unique individuals with unique pathways of transformation, reflecting our uniqueness. We are born into different cultures and life situations having unique mixtures of attitudes, proclivities and personality traits,   have different innate interests and desires, are susceptible to different temptations, face different trials and chastening, have different callings and giftings, and drag behind a long train of unique and constantly changing life experiences. Jesus said the way to eternal life is difficult: Our uniqueness makes our confirmation into the nature of Christ uniquely difficult. (Acts 10;32; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; James 2:1; 1 Peter 1:17; 2 Chron. 19:7)

Some examples: Job, a man whom God Himself called “a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil”, was chosen by God to demonstrate faithfulness under the harshest of adversity – including the death of his ten children – while his “comforting” friends suffered nothing. John the Baptist spent 30 years in the desert, wearing clothes made of camel’s hair and eating bugs, followed by a three month local ministry and prison, before losing his head. When’s the last time you seen a minister in camel’s hair clothes with locust breath. Stephen, the newly appointed deacon, was stoned to death before he could get new business cards printed, while Phillip, Stephen’s classmate in the first class of deacons lived to a ripe old age, had a long impressive evangelistic ministry, raised four godly daughters, and became the first, and so far the only flying deacon, being instantaneously transported from place to place -- carried by the wind of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle John – the “disciple whom Jesus loved” -- lived to a ripe old age dreaming of heaven, while the other eleven apostles were tortured and killed in the prime of their life.  The Apostle Paul, who wrote half the New Testament and planted churches throughout the world, suffered far more than anyone recorded in scriptures, was denied healing by God, and was beheaded in prison, while Lazarus, a friend whom Jesus loved, was raised from the dead to a long and peaceful life. God blinded one man for thirty plus years to demonstrate His Glory, and blinded Pharaoh’s heart, leading to his destruction. Jesus healed only one person out of the “great multitude of sick, blind, lame and paralyzed” at the Pool of Bethesda. .  And then there is Hebrews 11 where the great overcoming faith of the patriarchs is juxtaposed with the equally great faith of other unnamed saints who were tortured, scourged, imprisoned, stoned, sawed in two, slain with the sword, and left destitute, afflicted, tormented and homeless. “And all of these – the patriarchs and the other unnamed saints -- obtained a good testimony through faith.” (vs. 39) Hebrews 11:5 puts this in perspective: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him...”; Let’s understand this: Enoch lived a blessed life, literally walking with God, then was transported home by God bypassing death.  Enoch got a get out of death free card and was transported away to paradise by God while other saints who were equally faithful and pleasing to God were tortured, imprisoned, murdered, and left destitute and afflicted! That sounds a little biased if you’re the one who has a date with a tree-saw! God does not treat us all the same! He deals with each of His children as uniquely created beings with unique personalities, dispositions, proclivities, whom He has predestined to be conformed into the nature of His Son. He is focused on our perfection... our transformation into Christlikeness, and uses the unique circumstances of our life to mold and shape each of us. Be God’s

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