THE DESERT EXPERIENCE AND GOD’S PROVISION

BY PASTOR KISSI AGYEKUM

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TABLE OF CONTENT

1.0 What is the Desert Experience?

2.0 God’s Provision On the Desert

3.0 Why The Desert Experience?

4.0 The Believer’s Response In The Desert

5.0 Be Strong and Courageous in the desert

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 CHAPTER 1

WHAT IS THE DESERT EXPERIENCE?

Yet in your manifold mercies you did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of
the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them on the road; nor the pillar of
fire by night, to show them light, and the way they should go. Nehemiah 9:19-23

A desert is a bare land filled with only sand; nothing can be found on the land not
even houses. It is a bare land that a person goes to stay. The living conditions there are
not favorable. Those who find themselves there (desert experience) do not desire to be
there.

The desert is a time of affliction or trouble in the life of the believer. They are tests
that try your faith as a believer and can even lead you to give up on your faith. A
Christian who is holding on unto his faith will face a lot of afflictions that even
challenge you to give up on your faith.

When we look at scripture, the bible identifies a group of people or individuals God
made them to pass through the desert. God intentionally took them through the desert.
He did not leave them to their fate on the desert. After taking them through the desert,
God took them out of it. Anyone that the Lord takes unto the desert shall be taken
care of by the Lord!

Some of the desert experiences in our lives are spearheaded by God Himself. God
leads us sometimes, to have the desert experience. The experiences of following
group of people and individuals illustrate this point.

a. The Israelites

Bible makes us understand that when God brought th e Israelites out of Egypt and was
taking them to the Promised Land – Canaan, there was a shorter route which they
could have taken to quickly get to the Promised Land. If we critically look at a
geographical map, we shall realize that the distance from Egypt to Canaan would not

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have been over a 40-day journey.

But God decided to make them pass through the desert. What this meant was that, a
journey that could have taken barely 40 days to make, took the Israelites 40 years
when they were taken through the desert.

The experiences they went through, and the diverse ways in which God saved them,
scripture makes us understand that God actually took care of them on the desert until
they were taken out of the desert to the Promised Land.

Anyone God is leading or taking through the desert experience can be sure and
certain that God Himself will take care of them; He shall not forsake them; and God
Himself shall take them out of the desert! Anyone who has cried or wept, a time is
coming that you shall laugh. Because even on the desert, there is an exit point – you
shall not forever remain in the desert. And once you are still on the desert, God will
also not forsake you!

b. David

If you look at David who was anointed as king even when Saul was alive and was
closer to the throne than he could have ever imagine, he had to go through the desert
experience before sitting on the throne.

David killed Goliath and won the admiration of the people. The people began
comparing his conquest with Saul, saying Saul has killed a thousand but David ten
thousand. And with such praises which meant that David was preferred to Saul, David
could have embarked on a coup and still gain the absolute support of the people.

David also had easy access to the palace when Saul ordered for him – an easy access
to the throne. Jonathan, Saul’s son and heir to the throne, loved David so much. He
even hinted David that he (Jonathan) knew that the Lord has given the throne to him
(David). If David would have had any resistance and hindrance to the throne, it would
have been from Jonathan. But Jonathan boldly told David that the throne belonged to
him (David).

In all these happenings, God did not give the throne to David while he was still at the
palace. The transfer of the mantle to David could have been done easily, but God did
not allow it. David was made to go and reside in the desert. (1 SAMUEL 23:14-29).
There are some key points to note:

 David was anointed to be king

 David was the favorite of the people with regards to the praises accorded him
after killing Goliath

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  David was given the throne by Jonathan who was next in line

The above point notwithstanding David was made to go and be in the desert. And the
challenges, trials, persecutions and hardship he had to go through in the desert were
just overwhelming. It got to a point Saul gathered his forces to pursue David when he
heard David was hiding in a cave in the wilderness. When he was about chancing or
closing in on David, reports came in that the Philistines armies have invaded
Jerusalem. Saul then had to stop pursuing David in order to go back and fight the
Philistines.

God used diverse means to protect David’s stay in the wilderness (desert); and when
the time came for David to ascend the throne as a king, God made a way for him out
of the desert.

c. John The Baptist

He had to stay in the wilderness (desert) for God to prepare him for greater works
(Luke 1:80). God intentionally took him to the desert and showed him His glorious
power. That was why John the Baptist was able to speak boldly for people from all
walks of life to even go and listen to him. He had the boldness to rebuke the leaders of
the nation, the soldiers and even the Pharisees. This made people to wonder as to
whether he was the coming messiah.

John made them to understand that he was not the messiah, and that the messiah will
come after him, of which he (John) was unfit to even untie the sandals of the Messiah!

d. Jesus Christ

When we consider our Lord Jesus Christ, bible makes us understand that the Holy
Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tested (Matthew 4:1, Luke 4:1).

It wasn’t the devil who took Jesus Christ into the wilderness to be tested – it was the
Spirit of God

i. THE DESERT EXPERIENCE IS FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN

Every Christian is mostly to experience the desert experience at one point in their
Christian journey or the other.

It may be that one has already gone through the desert experience or possibly
currently on the desert or now about to enter.

ii. CONDITIONS ON THE DESERT

If someone is in the wilderness or on the desert, it is not a matter of pomp and

pageantry. The desert life and experience is not an easy one. The person encounters

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difficult and challenging situations. And if the person does persevere and endures till
the end where God takes him out, the person comes out glorified and exalted. The
Lord makes that person a new being.

“And so when the blacksmith works on a metal to be forged, he puts the metal in fire
till it becomes red hot. He then brings out the metal from the fire and hammers it into
the desired shape he wants. If the metal hardens and the desired shape is not attained,
he puts the metal back into the fire. The process is done repeatedly till the right shape
is forged from the metal.”

Gold is another classical example. Gold is mined from the earth in a state that is not
appealing. The gold is then melted and refined to get the real gold that glitters and is
used to make jewelry. So until gold is refined, it cannot shine forth and glitter.

In this regard, God has a purpose for anyone who has accepted Christ Jesus as Lord
and Saviour. Anyone who is regarded as a child of God has a special position God
wants to take such people. And so God intentionally allows His children to pass
through the desert before bringing them to such a position.

And like Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God sometimes leads us into the desert. With the
experience of David, it was greed; jealousy and persecution from Saul that made him
go through the desert. So it is with the believer. Sometimes certain things cross our
paths to make us go through the desert, making it seem God is a far off. Our
weaknesses and shortcomings can also make us go through the desert.

But even if it is the purpose or plan of God, or from the persecutions of enemies, or
from our mistakes, or from certain false accusations from people closest to you that
leads you into the difficult situation, God has allowed it in order for you to be used to
accomplish His purpose.

a. Trials And Temptations

Life on the desert is characterized by trials and temptations. The Israelites faced a
myriad of trials and temptations, even in the food they ate. It got to that point where
the cries and complaints of the Israelites made God to rain down manna from heaven.
The instructions that followed with regards to eating and gathering the manna was
violated by some people, leading to the manna turning into maggots.

God even instructed them not to gather on the Sabbath day since they were required to
take double portions for the Sabbath. But some went into the fields on the Sabbath
day to gather.

They started complaining about being fed up with manna, amidst referring Moses
back to the time of captivity in Egypt and the delicacies they were enjoying. God got
angry and gave them quails for meat. The food to be eaten in this regard became a
problem to the people.

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It got to a point where the enemies of the people of Israel engaged a prophet to curse
the Israelites. The prophet told the enemy king that the Israelites cannot be cursed.
After much persuasion, the prophet went to curse the people of Israel. But anytime he
opened his mouth to utter curses, they turned into blessings. The enemy king became
furious since the cursing did not prevail even on the third attempt.

The prophet Balaam was also greedy for money. He told the enemy king that the only
means of getting the people of Israel is to allow his young women fornicate with the
people of Israel, as well as making the Israelites worship his idols. If he were to
succeed in this, God would get angry at the Israelites and he will have a chance of
destroying the people of Israel. Balaam took the prize money, while the king initiated
the plan.

The Israelite men fornicated with the Midianite women, and even went to the extent
of worship the idols they women brought. The Israelites forgot God who was guiding
them through the wilderness because of women! They forgot about the God who
parted the Red Sea for them to walk on dry ground. They forgot about the God who
shielded them with a pillar of cloud. All because of the Midianite women, the people
forgot about God and started worshipping idols.

“God’s wrath came upon the people of Israel and in just a single day, about 23,000
people were killed.”

There are some Christians who do not get the head and tail of where the troubles they
are facing comes from. The situation becomes aggravated and overwhelming to the
extent that many think God has forsaken them. They begin asking why. And they
begin to doubt God after comparing their lives with some people in the church. The
troubles and problems just keep piling up.

And so, when you find yourself in such a situation, know that you are have reached
your desert, and it is at this point that you ought to be watchful because it is through
these trials that God can elevate you when you stand firm.

People will intentionally provoke you, and if you are not able to withstand, just a
word from your mouth can thwart the plans and purpose of God concerning you. It
gets to the point where your very faith in God becomes shaky. That is when your faith
in God is been tested. It may seem to you that God has forsaken you. That is the
moment you may wander off and go astray if you are not careful.

“Many Christians have compromised and destroyed their Christian life; they have
downtrodden their faith; they have soiled their garments; all because they did not
have patience to wait! Blessed are those who patiently endure trials, the bible says.
People do not see the reason why they have to go through hardship. But the word of
God teaches us to be patient in afflictions.”

The Israelites who could not watch over themselves carefully and endure hardship

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through the wilderness did not get to Canaan. It was just disheartening for people
about 600,000 not to see the Promised Land after the exodus from Egypt, with the
exception of three (3) people. Those who were able to make it to the Promised Land
were born during the exodus in the wilderness – they were not the same people as
those who came out of Egypt. This means that those who were over 40 years, and
were actually among the people who came out of Egypt were only 3.

Those who actually saw the power of God manifest and His glory did not see the
Promised Land because they could not withstand the desert experience. They died in
the wilderness! They did not even see the Promised Land.

Moses who was the leader during the exodus faced challenging moments because of
the people. Moses disobeyed God when he was asked to speak to the rock so water
can come from it, but instead struck the rock twice with his staff. Because Moses did
not honour God in that regard, he also did not enter the Promised Land.

“God have mercy on us! Some of us when we pass through the desert and our faith in
God is being tested, we need the help and grace of God to overcome!”

The story is told of a young lady who was supposed to marry a young man. But the
man had to travel overseas, and after some years lost contact with the lady. Since the
lady could not wait and purposed in her heart to move on, she was easily deceived by
another man who got her pregnant in the end without being married. Her fiancé
finally got into contact with her and had to explain to her about certain challenges he
encountered. He told her that everything is now in place for them to get married, and
that after the wedding, he is taking her overseas as well. As at that point, the lady was
now pregnant for another. How and why did this happen? The lady could not have the
patience to wait in her desert moments.

“Because the desert experience comes with hardships and challenging moments, we
always want the easy way out. We ought to rather be watchful and pray for the
patience to endure. Even when things seem to get out of hand, God surely will make a
way. The scripture makes it clear in the book of Isaiah that God will create a path in
the desert or wilderness.

b. Loneliness

It gets to a point when all things seem to work against you. You begin to feel lonely.
Those whom you deemed loved ones begin to have issues with you. Your closest
relations even forsake you. You are left on your own, and the realization of loneliness
dawns on you.

There is no one there to discuss issues with. Those you thought could have spoken on

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your behalf also disappoint. And that becomes the last straw for some, making feeble
ones commit suicide in the process of feeling rejected. Everyone becomes a suspect of
disappointment because they wouldn’t even have the time to listen to you. That
feeling of rejection leads to the suicide. They don’t want to listen to the side of your
story.

Everyone now picks on you as the culprit. Even to the point where the only one
person you trusted to speak on your behalf now doubts your integrity; questioning you
to just give in. it may even be your spouse who you thought could have backed you,
rejecting you to your fate. You find yourself alone in your room crying your heart out.

That person who was your supposed last resort has been snatched by death. The
person you considered a helper is no more. Your life has now become a lonely –
always by yourself for about 3 years running. If you find yourself in such a situation,
you are having your desert experience. And the Lord shall take care of you.

c. Exposure To Battles

You come to the explicit reality that you are really faced with battles in your life.
Even in your dreams, you battle with people, manifesting in the physical or flesh for
you to see. In your family you find yourself at war. Even in the church you see that
you are battling.

This is because the desert is vast and large. Wild animals are also plying the deserts,
which you encounter in your quest. When you are passing through the desert, you
meet a whole lot of things, because in the desert resides evil or wild animals. And that
is where the challenges and trials surfaces. You begin to realize that things are really
falling apart. You cannot grasp or get a firm hold on anything.

You have had to do automatic “all-nights” because immediately you close your eyes
to sleep, you see mayhem. Some people just have to do this all-night every Friday just
to avoid battles in their life. This is because the enemy pursuing is not tired or weary.

The Lord have mercy on us!

If anyone in the church is encountering battles with any enemy – witches, wizards,
evil spirits, how can they have peace of mind to worship God? It is the Lord who
fights our battles. That same God who delivered David from the hands of Saul, will
also not leave you to your enemies. Even if you fall asleep in your prayers, the Lord
still protects you.

“Let us therefore not be afraid. Because at the end of the day we shall meet them who
will tell us of evil befalling us. Just tell them you know whom you have trusted.”

Paul rightly said it, “We are being killed daily, but we don’t die!” Don’t allow people

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to use bad dreams concerning you to frighten you. Whenever you have a bad dream in
the night and you wake up, just use 5 minutes to pray concerning that dream and go
back to sleep…

Because of certain things we encounter in life, many have become afraid and as a
result, move from place to place in search of deliverance. Most of such people always
find themselves being duped and misled by false preachers or prophets.

If you are a Christian, you should know that it is not every dream you have that
becomes a reality. Some of the dreams you have is a means of God showing you what
He has already accomplished for you. God is revealing it to you in order for you to
show appreciation. God is the One who sees the future events and accomplishes it in
the present.

Sometimes God allow certain calamities to pass over us, and later reveals it to us in
the form of dreams. Because some do not come to the realization of such a great
deliverance, they become afraid and begin going to places for answers.

This Christian life is a life of warfare. And so, when we encounter such battles, let us
not become afraid since the Lord will protect us during such desert moments. If we
abide and remain under the feet of the Most High God, and witches and wizards are
able to torment us, then there’s no point remaining there.

“If you are a Holy Spirit filled believer and yet still evil spirit can torment you, then
where is God!? God is able to deliver us completely. God is able to save us to the
uttermost!”

And so, we must take our time and be patient when life takes us to the desert or
wilderness, which is characterized by trials and temptations, loneliness, warfare,
hardships and challenging moments – the Lord shall deliver us from all.

Sometimes you seem to be doing things right – paying your tithes, giving offerings,
living a righteous life, but you don’t understand why things are going wrong in your
life. You begin asking questions – have I sinned? Have I done anything wrong? Have
I missed something?

God says it is your desert experience, and He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Even if it is a sin that is making you encounter that desert experience, He is faithful
and just to forgive and restore!

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 CHAPTER TWO

GOD’S PROVISION ON THE DESERT

Nea Oma Sukooko Fifir.

Song

For the lord your God has blessed you in all the works of your hands. He knows your
trudging through this great wilderness. This forty years the lord your God has been
with you; you have lacked nothing.
Deuteronomy 2:7

And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your cloths have not worn out on
you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. You have not eaten bread nor
have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the lord.
Deuteronomy 29: 5-6

Moses is the author of the book of Deuteronomy. It is a book written to remind the
people of what God had done for them in the desert and encourage them to rededicate
their lives to him. He made them aware of the God that was able to deliver them from
Egypt to the Promised Land.

About 98% of the generation that wandered in the desert for forty years died. So the
remaining that passed through the Jordan were the second generation. This generation
was not from Egypt. They were birthed on the desert and because they did not know
about the deliverance of the Lord, Moses had to remind that generation of what the
Lord had done for them. Hence, the scripture; Deut. 2:7.

These are some of the things God intentionally did for the Israelites on the desert
because of the unfavorable conditions there. God never left them. He was with them
in a form of a pillar of cloud. When you look into the sky, you find out that there are
clouds gathered in the sky. When you go beyond the sky, there are the heavens
because the clouds are just hanging in the sky; when an aero plane enters the sky
through the clouds into the heavens, you see the clouds below. Because there was no
escape through the desert and the Israelites did not know the way themselves, God
revealed himself as a pillar of cloud that directed them where to go.

The cloud covered the tents set up by the Israelites. Whenever the cloud lifted from
above the tent, the Israelites set out, wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites
encamped and rested. Sometimes, the cloud was over the tabernacle for either two
days or a month or a year and the Israelites would remain in the camp and not set out:
but when it lifted, they would set out (Numbers 9: 15-23). In the night, the cloud
looks like fire and becomes like light that protects them from wild animals. Also, the
cloud provided a form of shelter for them.

At certain times, we go through very difficult moments in our life and we feel so

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much discomfort that we pray to God passionately to release us from the difficult
moments. Now because it is God’s purpose and will for us that we should be still in
such times, he makes a provision for us that enables us to stay in such times.

Mostly, God does not deliver us from all uncomfortable situations immediately we
pray. Rather, God grants us grace to sail through. Paul was a very prayerful man of
God, whom God used to do a lot of miracles. But the Bible says in (1 Corinthians 12:
7) that he was given a thorn in his flesh to torment him. Paul added that he begged the
Lord three different times in fasting to take it (thorns) away from him. These thorns
represent sufferings and difficulties.

Anytime he prayed that God deliver him, God never said he delivered him completely
but rather that “My grace is sufficient for you”. It is my prayer this evening, if
someone is going through such difficulties, and all hope is lost, faith has dwindled and
is praying to God to deliver him and it seems God is not responding, and that God is
silent; God should make His grace sufficient for you in Jesus’ name and continually
stay in desert. If the grace is sufficient for you, you will stay in it and you will sing
songs of praise to give God glory.

The Israelites stayed in Babylon as captives. By the rivers of Babylon, they sat and
wept, remembering Zion; how they used to meet God to praise and worship Him.
Their captors, mocking them demanded songs of joy. They continually demanded
“sing us one of the songs of Zion. The songs you use to sing in Jerusalem; sing so we
hear some’’ (Psalm137) but the Israelites replied, “how can we sing of the Lord in a
foreign land”.

Sadly, they were unaware that the Lord’s presence was still with them. If they knew,
they would have sung songs of praises even in that strange land. I pray that God
should fill your mouth with songs of praise even as you are in the desert in Jesus’
name. God should fill your heart with laughter and happiness in the midst of
persecution; in the midst of suffering, God should fill you with joy. If someone comes
with the intention to console you; immediately he / she sees the state in which you are
in, the person will testify that indeed the Lord is with you.

There are people despite whatever difficulties they are going through, they motivate
you to also keep on keeping on. They encourage you.

There was a time a great bereavement was upon the family. The house my old man
used to live in burnt completely. Nothing was left. At that particular time the General
Secretary’s wife had delivered a baby. So the baby was with my grandmother in the
house; when the fire destroyed the house; it burnt the baby as well. Everything was
totally destroyed. The only thing that was left behind was the clothing my old man
had on. He was by then at work. All the children were also by then starting life so
most of us were in the city trying to make ends meet. Anyone that comes to console
my old man was always met by great joy from him. People kept on asking him “o you
are still not perturbed upon all that has happened?” and he would always reply, “The

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joy of the Lord is my strength”. Whenever a great loss befalls a man, God always
grants him help from above. The Lord will never leave you.

So it is this cloud that led the Israelites, and at night became fire (light) until they
entered the land of Canaan. Immediately they got to Canaan, the cloud disappeared.

The Lord catered for their food and for forty (40) years, they never cooked. They
never went to the market to buy foodstuffs to prepare food rather God in his divine
provision, provided them with FREE food.

Their clothing had been same for so many years, it never wore out. The wonderful
thing about this is, as the people of Israel were putting on weight; their dresses were
becoming big enough to suit them. Hallelujah!

That is what the Bible says in

Deuteronomy 29:5; 8:4 “yet the Lord says, during the forty years that I led you
through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your
feet”.

There are stages in the development of the body where your feet does not enlarge
again. Actually from seven (7) years to an adult age, every year the feet gradually
enlarge naturally. Therefore, children who wore sandals and were born on the desert,
the Bible says by the power of God their feet did not swell nor their sandals wear out.
So as their feet became bigger, so also did their sandals to fit them perfectly.

It is on the desert, that we are able to see the miraculous signs and wonders that God
is able to do. If we want to identify those who can really testify of the power of God,
the Lord’s goodness, and his wonders, it is those who have been in the desert. If you
have never been in the desert, you do not have a testimony. You always draw
inspiration from other people’s testimony. But if you have been in the desert, you have
testimonies.

Beloved if you are in the desert today, do not despair, do not search for solutions from
places you might regret later; God has not left you, rather God wants you to have a
testimony because it is in the desert that God shows his wondrous power. Actually
when the Israelites got to Canaan, there was no free food again. They lived normal
lives, they no longer ate manna from heaven, their sandals after some months
deteriorated. Beloved, do not be sorrowful, do not be afraid, the Lord is with you. He
will never leave you nor forsake you; he will not put you to shame’. Fellow believers,
let us not worry about our enemies; let us not worry about what the devil can do but
rather let us firmly put our faith in what God is able to do.

Your enemies meant to sell you to harm you but because God’s plan is to prosper you
and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future; he will allow it to happen so that
when you are sold, the plans to lift you up will come to pass. Hallelujah!

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So, God catered for all their basic needs without any deterioration.

Song: Medan Wo

I always reference this story in my sermons. There was this lady who was going
through so many difficulties and trials. The more she prayed, the greater the problems.
Whatever she had to do as a believer, she had done. She decided to seek the help of
her pastor to help her in prayers. The pastor directed her to read the whole of psalm 23
and pray with it.

As she continued to read and meditate the whole chapter several times, she got to the
verse that says “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for you are with me…….” Immediately, her understanding opened that
even when she goes through such problems that look like the valley of the shadow of
death, the Lord is still with her. “If indeed, the Lord is with me, then why worry”, she
said to herself. She went back to the pastor and told him her prayers has been
answered.

The pastor aware it was sudden asked, “have all the problems disappeared?” she
replied, “No, but God says He is with me even in the problems. Hallelujah!

‘‘Therefore, if the Lord is with me then I lay all my burdens on him”, she added.

From then onwards, this Sister was filled with joy in her heart. All the devil wants is
to crush you in the desert but if you are enlightened as David was, together you will
and testify with him that “the Lord is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing” then indeed
you will lack nothing.

The above revelations also gave David an assurance of peace within.

Beloved this week, whatever you are going through, whatever is fighting against you,
God is with you and will make a provision for you. He will provide the means; he will
make a way where there seems to be no way.

The Bible says clearly in Ephesians 3:20 that He is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think. This is the God we serve and this same God will
provide for us.

Lastly, on the desert, there is no water; it is a very dry land but God made a provision
of water at Elim for the Israelites. There were twelve wells of water (Exodus 15:27)

Hence, on every desert, God can provide water in the form of “oasis” for you so that
you will not thirst. Just as He provided for Haggai such that the well which was near
to her but she could not see until the Lord opened her eyes; provided water for her
thirst; may this same God do same for you.

May God open our eyes to see the water he has provided for us in our desert

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experience. That we may never thirst again in Jesus’ name.

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 CHAPTER THREE

WHY THE DESERT EXPERIENCE?

Why does the LORD allow his children to go through the desert experience?

Why did the Lord allow the Israelites to go through the desert to the Promised Land
for 40 years knowing that there was a shorter route to it? Some Bible commentators
even say it was a two weeks journey. But the Lord did not allow them to use that
route.

So why did the Lord allow them to wander through the desert for forty years before
arriving at the Promised Land.

God had a purpose!

Why did Jesus fast and pray for 40 days and nights, only for the Holy Spirit to take
him to the desert to be tempted by the devil?

Why was an anointed as king like David, whom God had used as a vessel to kill
Goliath which earned him respect with the people making them sing his praises as a
man who has been able to kill ten thousands and King Saul one thousand. Even the
King's son Jonathan who was heir to the throne acknowledged him as the anointed
king after his father. How can he be taken to the desert to become frustrated to the
extent that if not for the timely intervention of Nabal's wife he would have killed
Nabal. The reason is, Nabal insulted him when he asked that he and his men should be
showed some kindness after protecting his flock from raiders in the desert. God would
have required the blood of Nabal from David if he had killed him.

This same David when he became king had to escape to the desert when his own son
conspired against him.

Why does God allow all this to happen to his children? In our ministry, we sometimes
meet really committed believers going through a lot of challenges and we ask
ourselves why?

Christianity is really a difficult way of life, if you find it easy then it means you are
living your life anyhow. A believer can enter marriage with a clear conscience but the
marriage can be problematic for him or her. Sometimes we pay our tithe faithfully but
we loose our job or face a lot of problems in it, our health can really fail us but we
realise that we have not wronged God in anyway in all this.

Today, we will try to understand why some of these things happen. If we are to
understand or have a reason for it all our God will no more be Sovereign.

The God who allowed them to stone Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit to death
was the same God who sent his Angel to rescue Peter from jail when he was arrested

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to be killed after the celebration of Passover. We as humans cannot fully understand
his Sovereignty, not even the so called professors in theology. He is God and does
whatever pleases him, he can decide to let one fall sick and die and let another fall
sick and recover.

The first reason we want to consider today about why God takes his children through
the desert can be seen in Exodus 13:17-18

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road
that runs through the philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to
the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might
change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way
through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. *Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an
army ready for battle* NLT.

From the Bible reading, God did not take the Israelites through the Philistine land
which was shorter but led them to wander through the desert. He took them through a
route that took them 40 years to arrive at their destination.

Why did God make them wander? Verses 17 makes us understand that they would
have faced war and turned back to slavery. God’s purpose for his people was to take
them to Canaan but he knew that if he did not plan well the nation will turn back.

As believers God’s purpose for us is to take us to heaven and if that meant taking us
through the desert, he will. God has called us to take us to heaven, in order not to lose
us, he will take us through circles of trials if anything becomes a hindrance to this
purpose. We must understand that our good job, marriage and riches are just bonuses
that God give us on the journey but it should not let us loose focus of his ultimate aim
for us. The word of God says seek ye first the kingdom of God and it’s righteousness
and all other things shall be added, unfortunately some people’s aim in the church is
not to make heaven but to acquire earthly things.

God knew the Israelites had never been to war in 430 years and therefore did not have
any battle experience. The promised land was however not an unoccupied land, for
the past 430 years it had been occupied by the Canaanites who would simply not
move away without fighting for the land because the Israelites claim it was for their
ancestor, Abraham. In view of this God who knew his people had no battle experience
took them through the desert to equip them with the minor battles they faced. The
word of God says that no temptation comes to man except that which you will be able
to overcome. God allows believers to go through the desert to face minor battles to
equip them for what is ahead. An instance is our former COP chairman Apostle
Michael Ntumy who God took through difficult times in Liberia. His plan was to
equip him for the task ahead as the youngest chairman and because God toughened
him, the LORD used him to build his church to a higher glory during his tenure.

Brethren if you are going through trials understand that God is preparing you for a

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bigger task ahead. May God be merciful to us and help us stand firm. For he says he
will not let trials that will overwhelm us come our way therefore it means our trials
are preparing us for the future.

The second reason is that when God realises that his various cautions are not getting
our attention he takes us to the desert. When he talks us to the desert we will draw
near to him in order for him to direct our path. Most times when things go well for us
we forget about our God, we get occupied with the things of the world. He then takes
us to the desert to get our attention because when times are hard we will seek him.

The reason is in Romans 5:3-4 (NIV)

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; and perseverance, character and character, hope.

God want us to develop perseverance in us, this means he does not want us to give up
when times are hard. As believers we sometimes pray to God to give us perseverance,
we must know that it developed only when we face trials. When we develop
perseverance it transforms our character. Most of the time some people become
heartless when they have riches, then God makes them go through the desert of
hardship to refine their character to be able to appreciate what such people pass
through so that when they come out they will become compassionate towards them.
When you persevere in suffering it refines our character it gives us hope in God.

Hope builds our faith and increases our love for God. Anyone who has been through
trials has hope in God than riches. As Paul said if our hope in God is only in this life
then we are the most miserable people on earth.

My brethren let your hope and faith be in God, if he has given you riches don’t build
your hopes in it. If our hope is in God we will be able to stand in whatever situation
till Christ returns.

May God help us and be with us his so that his purpose for taking us through the
desert will be accomplished.

The reason why God sometimes sends us through a desert experience is because he
wants us to totally rely or put our trust in him than in ourselves. 2 Cor. 1:8-9, Paul in
this scripture was describing the trouble he and some other brethren went through in
Asia. He described the situation as one that was far beyond their abilities to the extent
they even considered death. Sometimes, you face certain challenges like chronic
illness and even a near death experience and at a point, you begin to consider death. I
faced such challenge in life. I smelt death all around me, I received prophecies and
confirmations about death but I couldn’t save this situation with my strength. I knew

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my strength will fail me, all I needed to do was to depend on the Most High God. I
truly trusted in the Lord and he delivered me during in my desert experience. Paul
made us understand that all what happened to them on their way to Asia was a way
God was teaching them not to rely on their strength but to put their trust in him. Song
for meditation: ‘kept by the power of God’.

If you get to that point where you totally put your trust in the Lord, nothing scares
you anymore, no one can deceive you and you don’t need any consultation because
your life is in the hands of the Lord. This increases your faith in God and you stand
firm in him.

Secondly, God sends us to the desert to give us an experience in our sufferings and
pain to serve as an encouragement to others who may face same challenge. Some
people through this challenge become counsellors, motivational speakers and mentors
who use their life experiences to inspire others- 2 Cor. 1:3-4. Sometimes in life, God
can lay it on your heart to share some of your personal life experiences to someone
who is going through any difficult situation. You will realize that, after you have
shared these experiences, he/she becomes encouraged and edified. It also gives the
person an assurance that he is not the only person going through such challenge.
Some questions that sometimes people ask themselves when they go through certain
challenges are: ‘Why me?’, ‘Why do I have to go through this challenge?’ God will
then send someone who has been through similar challenge to motivate you and tell
you of how He delivered the person. Most of the times, we don’t really give attention
to people who advise us but don’t have any personal experience. Those with personal
experience impact us more than those without it. God sends us through the desert
experience to learn lessons, take note of certain things and to use us as reference
points to people who go through similar challenge.

The last reason why God sends us through the desert experience is to remind us to call
upon his name in times of need. He sends us there so that we can have times where
we personally embark on fasting and prayers and to have some time of fellowship
with him- Ps. 107: 4-6. Sometimes, God wants us to cry before He acts. He wants us
to engage him when we realize things are not moving as expected. You have to go the
extra mile to move the Hand of God in your favour. Example: in such times, you can
decide to miss work, lock yourself in your room and cry unto your God because he
said in his word that ‘if we call unto him in the times of need, he will answer us’. The
lord told Abraham that his descendants will be slaves in another man’s land for 400
years after which He the Lord, will deliver them and bring them back to the land he
has promised them. But the people of Israel spent more than the number of years the
Lord has planned for them to spend. They added an additional 30 years to it making
430 years. The reason is, the Israelites didn’t call on the name of the Lord for help,
and they created comfort in bondage. They felt comfortable in their state as slaves. As
a Christian, if you don’t work hard to change certain situations that you are not
comfortable with, you will remain in that discomforting situation. You have to arise
and make up your mind to change situations. God listens to those who call upon his

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name in times of need. So, the Lord heard the Israelites when they began crying unto
him and he sent Moses to go and deliver them. That is why Jesus told us not to cease
praying because like the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust Judge, that is
how we have to worry God with our prayers so that he can hear our prayers. If not
God will send us through the desert experience so that we can call upon his name.

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 CHAPTER 4

THE BELIEVER’S RESPONSE IN THE DESERT

A Christian who is holding on unto his faith will face a lot of afflictions that even
challenge you to give up on your faith. You will realize all afflictions that come upon
are things that challenge your faith. The devil wants you to give up on your faith. All
the counsels you are receiving now are all part of the desert experience. Some of the
challenges include being left alone, not being understood by anyone, disappointments
from people you thought could help you and not even hearing the voice of God. Jesus
faced same challenge. He was neglected by the Father at the cross and He shouted,
“My Father, My Father, why have you forsaken me?” John the Baptist also went
through similar challenge. Even though he was the one that prepared the way for the
coming of the Saviour, and even baptized him as recorded in John 1:31-38, He looked
forward to have been visited at the prison when he was arrested by even Jesus or
disciples but none of them showed up.

What should you do when you are not hearing the voice of God in your desert
experience?

The desert experience is an experience of struggles and battles. The lord has a purpose
for giving you in that desert experience and he will definitely make provisions for you
and create an environment needed for going through that experience. You will go
through this desert experience under God’s providence. God will never leave us in
that situation. His countenance will be with us as David said in Psalms 23:4, “Even
though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your
rod and staff, they comfort me”. David makes us understand that the Lord has a ‘rod’
and a ‘staff’. Every shepherd uses the ‘rod’ and ‘staff’ to direct his flock. The ‘rod’
and ‘staff’ have their respective functions. The ‘rod’ is used to redirect the sheep who
goes wayward or who tries to leave the flock when they are all going to one direction.
In short, it used to discipline, the ‘staff’ is also used by the Shepherd to prevent
predators from killing his sheep. The rod belongs to the sheep and the staff belongs to
their predators. The sheep are comforted when their shepherd holds these two things
because of the function it plays in their lives. That is the reason for David saying,
“…..your rod and staff comfort me”. The rod is the word of God that He uses to
discipline and redirect us but the staff is what he uses when the enemy comes upon us.
When you get this confidence in you, you are comforted when you find yourself in a
desert experience. Even though, you are going through this challenge, the Lord is still
with you. He will never allow you to remain in the desert. It is never God’s will for us
to destroy us when we find ourselves in the desert experience.

In Jer. 29:11, “For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper

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you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. The Lord told these
words to the Israelites when they were in Babylon as exiles. In their distress, the Lord
gave this message to Jeremiah to encourage his children that “he knows the thoughts
he has towards them”. It is his will for them to be in slavery and all the sufferings in
Babylon are His will for them. His Will is to give them hope and an expected end. It
doesn’t matter what we are going through in the desert, the will of God for us to give
us an expected end and a safe journey. He will take us to heaven.

Paul says in Rom. 8:28 that “and we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose”. All things as
mentioned by Paul represents the good and bad things that happen to us in thus
Christian life. Any Christian who has given his totally surrendered his life to God will
experience the worst of his life but all these will work for his good. If the enemy
sends you to the desert to go and die, the Lord will bring you back, if he sends you
there to disgrace you, the Lord won’t let it happen.

What do you need to receive the Grace of God in the desert/ how can you become
victorious in the desert?

Use the Word of God.

When you find yourself in the desert experience, read the word of God, meditate on
the word, accept and practice what God has said in his word not the counsel of men.
In your desert experience, you will receive a lot of prophesies and revelations but
stick to the word of God. If you are not careful to stick to the word but listen to the
counsel of men, you will be totally deceived. Christians don’t need consultations and
counselling. The Bible says ‘all secrets belong to God’. If the Lord wants to show us
what will happen in the next two years of our lives, we would stay in our rooms
forever. Christians walk by faith. Commit yourself to the Lord when you wake up in
the morning, the Lord will see you through the day. Commit yourself to the Word of
God. At times, your fellow Christian can even deceive you with the Word of God if
you are ignorant of the Word of God. Let us be cheerful listeners, good students and
good meditators of the Word. If we do that, we will experience God’s direction in the
desert and we will be comforted and be strengthened to go through the desert.

We should be watchful and prayerful. Mark 14:38.

If you find yourself in the desert, don’t be in a hurry to be prayed for. Others believers
can bear with you in prayers but don’t wait to be prayed for. If you are watchful in
prayer, you will be deceived. On the desert, you are very vulnerable and you can be
deceived because you feel anxious and you long to be liberated. Be watchful in
prayer.

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We should fix our eyes on Jesus and on Him alone. Heb. 12: 2&13.

A quote says, “If you look at the world, you will be distressed, if you look within you,
you will be depressed, if you look at Jesus, you will be at rest”. Let your focus be on
Jesus.

Don’t neglect Christian meetings.

You will be strengthened when you go for Christian meetings and stand firmly in your
faith as well.

Think of the precious times, you have experienced the Lord’s deliverance

Think of the troubles, sufferings and afflictions that the Lord delivered you from.
Think of your blessings, the good things that the Lord has done for you.

Song: Sɛ ehum retu a.

Your lips will be filled with songs of praises to the Lord and you will testify that the
Lord who delivered you some time ago will deliver you today too. If you look at the
life of David, he was victorious over Goliath because he remembered what the Lord
has done in his life. When he told the King he wanted to face Goliath, the King asked
him what makes him think he can fight against Goliath and he narrated to him how
the Lord gave him victory over animals who try to attack his flock in the forest, he
recounted how God gave him strength to kill lions and other wild animals and was
convinced that this same God who gave him victory over these animals will give him
victory over Goliath. In hard times, remember what the Lord has done for you. You
have a testimony. Every Christian has a testimony.

Song: yewͻ adanse bi a ɛyɛ nwanwa

You can remember what the Lord has done for you in some time past, if the storms
and wind comes against you in the desert, remember the months and years that have
come by, and remember that the Lord who delivered you in those months and years
will deliver you this time around.

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 CHAPTER 5

BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS IN THE DESERT.

Grace and peace from our Lord and savior Jesus to you all.
We thank God again for his mercies and grace unto us. He who has begun with us
throughout this week; he would graciously end with us. Amen!
This whole week, what the Lord has enlightened us to look at is “the desert
experience and God’s provision. We identified some conditions in the desert, God’s
provision in the desert and why the desert experience. God also enabled us to look at
the believer’s response to the desert.

As we climax this week, the lord has laid it on my heart to look at “Be Strong and
Courageous in the desert.”
It is evident that there is sorrow and so much pain in the desert; it is not comfortable
to be in the desert but still be strong and courageous.
Yesterday, we attended a funeral at Suhum. Just when we were extending our
greetings to the bereaved family, we were greeted with another sad story from another
family we know over there. We were informed that, a woman and her daughter who
worked at the Suhum station decided to stay a little longer after work around 6:30 pm
to listen to a sermon that was being preached by another church at the lorry station.
The entire family of this woman are Pentecostals. As the woman stood in front of her
store to listen to the sermon, there was a faulty vehicle nearby being repaired;
suddenly, the car moved and hit the woman from wherever she was standing. Because
of her serious injury, she could not make it again in the land of the living. The family
could not stop crying: immediately they saw me, all they could exclaim was; “oh!
Pastor, this is the sad incidence that has happened to us”.
I did not know what to tell them, whether this is the will of God. Always I say that
anyone who says following Christ is easy, then the person is not holding on to the
commandments of Christ well in a way. If you hold firmly to it, you will know that
being a follower of Christ is difficult. When I instruct four (4) men to hold on to this
pulpit, the one whose leg may be trembling is the one who is holding unto it well.
There will be another who will just be playing around it. I do not always believe that
Christianity is all about “I command, I receive.” It is not always that God “butters our
bread and sugars our koko.” All times when he sugars the porridge, it will taste like
“quinine”. But in all things God is still sustaining us, God is still shielding and
protecting his children. Hence, the desert experience is not a child’s play, they are
things that hunt us and fight against us. God just revealed my message for today this
morning. He says, we should be strong and courageous on the desert. We should not
allow anything to frighten or scare us because he will make us victors in the desert.
Let us read Joshua 1: 5-9. Joshua was an individual who walked closely with Moses.
He was Moses’ bosom friend, a mentee and a great helper to Moses. Joshua was one
out of over a million people who entered the Promised Land. God anointed him with
leadership skills when Moses died, to lead the Israelites as at when they were still in

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the desert. They had not crossed over the Jordan into Canaan yet.
This week we have learnt that the reason why God did not lead them on the road
through the Philistine country, though that was shorter was because, if they face war,
they might change their minds and return to Egypt (Exodus 13:17)
God’s main goal was to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land but those who were
already on the Canaan land had lived on the land for so many years: 400 years. So
should the Israelites immediately claim the land for themselves that, it is an
inheritance from God to their great grandfather Abraham, it would definitely cause
war. The Israelites on the other hand, because they had been in Egypt as slaves
without wars, they had no experience in fighting battles. Hence, God also made them
use the desert so to prepare them for bigger battles. God used war with smaller nations
like the Amalekites to prepare them. God was at the same time doing signs and
wonders to strengthen their faith that He will take them to the Promised Land. So the
entire journey through the desert was to prepare them until they got to the promised
land; where they sent some men (including Joshua) to explore the land (Numbers
13:17). The men that were sent came back with the report that the land was good and
it does flow with milk and honey. They continued that, the people who lived there are
powerful and the cities are fortified and large. “Even we the Israelites, we looked like
grasshoppers in our own eyes and in their eyes. Therefore, we cannot overcome
them, we should rather go back to Egypt.” Actually what God was thinking is exactly
what has happened. But Joshua remembered the signs and wonders God has done for
them in the desert. He told them that though the people are taller, stronger and bigger
than them, yet ‘we can overcome them”. Though Joshua firmly held on to his faith, he
still needed reassurance from God.
Remember the day you accepted Christ as your Lord and personal savior, you gave
all your heart to God, your heart was filled with so much joy. The Lord was great in
your life and you were not afraid of anything. But immediately you started having one
or two problems, your faith started to wither. This morning if there is anyone who has
gotten to a stage in his life where he needs God’s strength; may God reassure you in
Jesus’ name. May God lift you up again.
Once in Takoradi, we were all on the desert. Myself and Osofo Maame; no one could
help the other. We were going through pains, difficulty; we did not know who to even
call. The following day as we were praying, God reassured us that, He would never
leave us nor forsake us; He would not put us to shame. Mostly I say that because of
the suit that Pastors wear, when we sweat, no one sees. So people think Pastors are
superhuman.
I usually chat with my cousin and he normally tells me the difficult times he is going
through and I continually encourage him that all is well. He told me that as for we
Pastors, he is not sure we go through such problems and I told him that, we really do.
He said “no, the way you people handle yourselves, you do not go through such
problems and I told him that pastors have lives too, they go through difficult times,
and they get problems, so always they need to wait on God to reassure them. If you
are a child of God, it will get to a stage, you will be down and God will give you that
reassurance. The Lord gave Joshua an assurance. The Lord repeated “Be strong and

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courageous” three times in verse 6, 7 and 9.
May God continually reassure you of His promises. To be strong means the ability to
withstand great force or great pressure. If God says be strong, then it means he wants
you to be strong enough to withstand great force or pressure.
The pressure will come, the difficult times will emerge but be strong and courageous
in these times.
Song: Sore gyina w’anamonso.
Another meaning of being strong is to be secure, to be stable or firmly established. As
a believer be stable and firmly established in the Lord. Be firmly rooted in the Lord,
stand firm. A Christian who is on the fence with one leg in the world and the other
with God, you cannot be strong. A Christian who is roaming in all churches taking all
kinds of concoctions as directions cannot be strong. You should be well established,
you should be firm in your faith. Do not be part of the crowd; do not follow the
multitude; rather be firmly established in God. Be strong!
Be Courageous also means having the ability to control fear in the face of danger.
Courage is not the absence of fear rather acting in spite of fear. Certain things may
scare you, certain things may frighten you, certain situations can be a hindrance but
being courageous is the ability to control the fear. Saying to yourself that no matter
the difficulty I will still meet you (in prayers).
Sometime ago, myself and Osofo Maame were going somewhere and we saw a tall
man dressed in a white apparel in broad day light. I told Osofo Maame that if it was in
the night, it would have been scary.
For instance, if you were to be walking pass a cemetery in the night and you saw a
man dressed in white, what would have showed that you are courageous is when you
say that, “No matter who you are, I am coming to meet you !“Then you speak in
tongues, which shows you are courageous. That is facing danger in spite of the fear in
you. What will make someone scream, cry or even shout, “Am dead”; when you
encounter such a problem, you’ll stand. Any Christian who encounters a problem and
is not able to stand firmly in courage and allows fear to overwhelm him; fear can lead
you to sin. So we need God to help us to overcome fear. We all have what we fear.
Some people are afraid of dogs, snake or even worms. Job said in Job Ch. 3v25:
“What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has befallen me”.
We all have what we fear but when the things we dread and are afraid of happen to us,
we need to be courageous and wait for the deliverance of the Lord.
God told Joshua that though I have given you the land and it is your possession but
you need to be strong and courageous so that when your enemies meet you, you don’t
run but rather confront them. May God give you the spirit to be strong and courageous
in Jesus name. When God spoke to Joshua, he didn’t tell him to use it as a slogan. The
Lord gave him a foundation, a reason why he should be strong and courageous. God
did not say it in vague. Any courage or zeal that doesn’t have the backing of the word
of God is meaningless. If one says he is strong and has a lot of courage without the
backing of God he will meet his “meter” one day. So the “Be strong and courageous”
is deeply rooted in God’s word. It was God’s word for Joshua because anytime God
told Joshua to be strong and courageous, He gave him a reason or a foundation.

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 Joshua Ch. 1v5-6 says “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your
life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake
you. Be Strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land
I swore to their ancestors to give them’’.
I want to ask you, what was God’s promise in this text for Joshua to be strong and
courageous? The answer is, ’’As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never
leave you nor forsake you. It is just like when the former Pastor of this church left,
and I replaced him; then I tell the presiding elder that just as the former pastor worked
with him, in the same way, I will also work with you. What have I done? I have given
him a promise right? Yes, I have promised him. So before Joshua had to face his
enemies, before he went to the desert, he promised him that just as he was with Moses
so he will be with him. Do not be afraid.
So what made God tell Joshua to be strong and courageous is because of his promise.
When you have God’s promise in your heart, when you are relying on God’s
promises, when you are always meditating, it will make you strong and courageous,
hence if you want to be strong and courageous think and meditate on God’s promises.
Song: He has promised he will never fail.
If you are a believer, in the desert and you totally rely on God’s promise; God’s
promise to believers is that he will never leave us, for He knows the plans he has for
us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and future (Jer. Ch.
29v11). When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when you walk
through the fire, you’ll not be burned for I am your God (Isaiah Ch. 43v2). When you
rely on these promises that God has given to his children, you’ll be strong and
courageous.
What other promise did God give to Joshua as the foundation for being strong and
courageous? That he should be careful to obey all the law Moses gave him. Hence
beloved if we want to be strong and courageous, we need to obey the word of God to
the latter, and not turn from it to the right or to the left. I am not surprised in today’s
prophecy, God instructed us to adhere to his word, lest we get lost. God’s word was a
safe guard for Joshua. Joshua therefore relied totally on the promises of God and also
in God’s word. It is this God’s word that will encourage him, strengthen and show
him the way to go.
A Christian cannot survive without the word of God and be strong and courageous.
You may be very prayerful but without the word of God, it is meaningless even when
there are prophecies. But when the word of God dwells in you, you stand firm.
Beloved in the Lord let us not depart from the word of God, it is what will save us.
Thirdly, Joshua Ch. 1:9 says: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged; for the Lord God will be with
you wherever you go.”
If the Lord is with you, you can be strong and courageous. This morning, the word the
Lord laid on my heart is, the Desert is an uncomfortable place to be, it is full of
sorrows and pain. It is a time of confusion and also where things scare you.
The Bible says, the lions may roar and will want to hinder us but those who are strong
and courageous, the Lord will deliver them and grant victory. Just as God told Joshua

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that because of his promises, he should be strong and courageous, because of his word
he should be strong and courageous and because he is with him he should be strong
and courageous; May This same God make you strong and courageous because of his
word, because of his promise and because he is with you in Jesus name. Amen

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