God: You need to change, Bianca.
Me: [what I should have said] Yes, Lord! Anything for your glory. Your will is what I want and if change is what is going to refine and mature me, I will gladly do what you ask. [Then bust out in a lyrical dance of Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take the Wheel.]
Me: [what I said] Change? You want me to change?! There’s nothing wrong with me! Maybe I could trust you more, but hello?! I’m talking to you right now. Isn’t that enough? How about we talk about this later after you’ve had a little nap? You know, maybe you’re just tired. [Then cross my arms across my chest like an insubordinate child until I lose the battle.]
Seasons change. Time changes. Days change. Locations change. If we—in our journey in life—don’t change we will live a life of misery or wither away from the inability to adapt to life’s changes. Or if you anything like me, you haggle for there to be another way. [Don’t hate. Even Jesus asked for a way out of the cross, so there!]
Even though I kick and scream, I firmly believe the desert—the space where we feel lost or lonely or deeply hurt—is fertile ground for our spiritual transformation and for God’s grace to be revealed in magnificent ways.
As we pass through the desert, it is important to recognize that it’s not simply the hardship, but also our reaction to the hardship, is forming us. With each trial we experience, our responses both reveals the person we are and the person we are becoming. Whether we age with grace and poise or become bitter, resentful people is largely determined by our response to disappointment and the habits of response.
In session two of the Desertology series, we break down the exodus journey by highlighting certain attributes the children of Israel possessed and ultimately died from while in the desert. The goal is to help people make it to their Promise Land! [If you missed out on session one, you can watch it here.]
See you in the Land of Milk and Honey, friends! Enjoy. 🙂
Further discussion:
- How do you respond in harsh circumstances? Do we do any better than the children of Israel? Do we trust? Do we respond in faith?
- Are we allowing ourselves to be disciplined and trained by the hardships we experience in the desert so that we can live in greater dependence on God?
- Remember, our patterns of response to our challenges and trials will shape who we become.
I was so blessed by this message. Thanks for posting. Myra
Of course! It’s my pleasure that you enjoyed it 😉
How do you respond in harsh circumstances?
Not well. At all. I freak out and my Jacob-mode comes on automatically (trying to do everything in my own strength which is hilarious because really? What do I expect to get done?) Like trying to buy a house with no money (yes, I have convinced myself that this is possible on several occasions.) My parents should have named me Jacoba 🙂
Bianca, thank you. The Lord gave me the word from Hosea many months ago, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor [trouble] a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.” I’ve been in my own desert season for a while now. And for a while, I have heard the Lord calling out to me. I have heard Him repeatedly say, “Yahweh.” I have heard Him say recently, “I will soon reveal the hidden manna.” I guess the desert’s been so tough, and it has felt like relief is tarrying, that I haven’t been able to put all of these pieces together. After listening to your message, I have some much needed clarity tonight. This is a desert; it is for a purpose; the Lord is properly alluring me back to Him, and He’s teaching me about being Yahweh in my life. He is teaching me He is my source and I can trust Him. There will soon be manna, and this desert will produce good fruit. Thank you for encouraging me so much tonight, my sister in the Lord, and for bringing a message that has brought some much needed clarity. I pray the Lord blesses and keeps you; I pray He blesses you for your generous heart in sharing your message with all of us for free. Thank you, and I’m so glad I listened. Refreshed now. A good drink of water in the desert 🙂
Man, I`ve thought of a thousand things I could type…I feel like God has cuffed me up the side of the head….No wonder I`ve been wandering around in a circle for a year….Time to stop grumbling, murrmuring and complaining, time to start crying out….
Thank you
My dear Sweet Sister..May the Lord continue to bless you with knowldge and wisdom as He uses you to teach women through your ministry. The moment I heard you at our retreat(CCOB) some years ago at Sandy Cove…I knew that you are such a gifted precious being of the Lord…I am so blessed by your blog…you give me hope for my daughter who is about your age and you even kind of look alike…when I see you I see my daghter in the future in love with the Lord she is now so engulfed in self and in the filth of this world. Her name is Alyssa..please pray for her..I love you my sister God Bless Laly