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St. Paul School of Leadership & Discipleship Lesson 211 - WHEN LIFE FEELS LIKE A DESERT (God's Plans and Promises for You from the Book of Isaiah) By Frank Eiklor and the Shalom Team "Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19 I must tell you a story that I myself would tend to keep a secret if this miracle could not be confirmed by my wife, Norma. Fact is, it was her unspoken desire that I believe initiated what to us was one of those mountaintop moments where one stands in awe of not only the God of great wonders but also the Lord of gentle reminders of His nearness. We were on a hike in the desert along the Colorado River. Most of the days, there was not a soul in sight. Now desert sun and hefty backpacks can combine to create lots of sweat and a longing for something cool to the taste. That's when Norma had this mouth-watering desire for a cool apple. Not long after, she stared in stunned silence - as did I - at what stared back at us from the hot desert ground. Two perfect, cool, sumptuous apples lay there waiting for us - with no human in sight. After shouting praises to God, I wanted to wash my apple. Norma said, "Would God give us dirty apples?!", and proceeded to bite into what we perceive as God's miracle in the desert. Look at our scripture again - with spiritual eyes. It is a promise to Israel and a promise to you. Do sins hold you as a prisoner? Confess them fully and believe the blood of Jesus cleanses you, like He promised. Has a spiritual staleness stagnated your growth and robbed you of a zest for the Lord? Make a fresh dedication of body, soul and spirit to Jesus. Then believe Him for a "new thing" in your life and He will open a way in your wilderness and bring rivers of His living water to your spiritual desert - just like He dropped two cool apples into our physical desert. My prayer: "I long for a new thing in my life, Lord—something only You can do so that I will praise only You." "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1)
Related Articles · More Articles Jesus said many would come in His name and deceive the hearts of the simple, sinful and proud. Eastern mysticism and meditation is a big thing in the gullible West. And one day a “world leader” will appear on the scene with the persuasion of a god and the heart of a devil. Jesus warns His children to know the Scriptures, live in obedience to the Father’s will, and stay alert to the signs of the times. They laugh no more. Now God’s description of how He will destroy the old earth and create a
new one makes perfect sense. The splitting of the atom turned many skeptics into believers.
After all, look what man himself is capable of doing with the atom and hydrogen bombs. Now
the fear is that nuclear weapons are being placed in the hands of madmen who wish to annihilate
their enemies. God has blessed man with incredible genius. We stand in awe as we watch men and women in a room full of computers and high-tech instruments guiding and landing spacecraft on distant planets. At that moment, we appear invincible. But then a mammoth tornado comes—or a terrifying hurricane—or rains that flood whole regions and never listen to our shouts to “Stop!”—or the shake that removes from under our feet any confidence or pride we carry, and leaves us numb with hardly enough breath to even utter the paralyzing word “EARTHQUAKE!”. And man is helpless in the face of it all! |
