Walking Through the
Wilderness: Survival Secretsⓒ
Key scripture: "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a
father, will he give him a STONE? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a SERPENT? Or, if he shall ask an egg,
will he offer him a SCORPION?" (Luke 11:11,12).
Jewel of
Enlightenment:
Now
what do a stone, a serpent, and a scorpion have in common? They all are found in the wilderness! Now we all have
wilderness experiences or hard times. The Bible says that it rains on the just and the unjust (see Mat.5:45).
So when you find yourself going through, you've found yourself in a wilderness; you're having a wilderness experience, a hard
time.
Now the good news is that when you're going through
a hard time, you can "go through" it; you don't have to perish in it. Don't die in the wilderness; walk through
it. As God's dear child, He expects you to walk through the wilderness by walking by faith. When
you're going through a difficult time, you can endure by faith. Trust in God is the key to successfully
enduring it. There are survival secrets to the wilderness. You don't have to "die" or utterly
fail in your hard time. You can survive it. Just remember these two secrets to surviving your wilderness
(that is, your hard time):
1. The Secret of Divine
Provision. Now there's no natural provison in the wilderness; only stones. "Stones" represent
burdens or responsibilities that are difficult to bear, for that you're going through a hard time. But walking by faith
will enable you to experience divine provision. When you put your trust in God to provide for you, He'll be faithful
to do it, as His faithfulness was exemplified in the wilderness when He provided for the children of Israel with food
and water. "But my God shall SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEED according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil.4:19).
When you go through a hard time, needs may develop along the way; but God shall supply all your needs as you walk by
faith, not by sight.
2. The Secret of Divine Protection.
Also, there are harmful creatures in the wilderness: "serpents" and "scorpions."
When you're going through something, spiritual enemies may try to "harm" you. While you're going through a
hard time, you may come under attack by these predatory spirits. A spirit of depression may try to "kill" your
peace of mind. A spirit of despair may try to "kill" your hopes and dreams. But when you walk by faith, you
can experience divine protection. As a matter of fact, God will give you power to tread on these "serpents and scorpions",
even over all the power of the enemy, and they will not harm you. "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19).
When you find yourself going through a hard time, recognize you've
found yourself in a wilderness. But you can go through that hard time. You can walk through the wilderness. Walking
by faith in your difficult time enables you to "see" God provide for you, and to "see" Him protect you.
You can survive the wilderness! Remember these survival secrets and resort to them in the time of difficulty. When you
walk by faith, they will work!
