DESERT CHILD

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 believe there comes a time in the life of every believer where you'll (sooner or later) have to go through your very own desert. As long as you have a purpose, (and you do)  and as long as you have a destiny (and you do) and as long as you carry seed from God (which you do) you are a target for the enemy. I'm not the kind of person who believes that in order to know something you need to go through a lot of mess to call yourself experienced. 

So; to me; it wasn't any degree or dramatic life experience that I thought would qualify me to write for God. I felt qualified to serve God and others, qualified to love and qualified to be used by God without ever being tested.

I just always had a certain understanding of the things of God and the Bible. But all the wisdom and knowledge I had worked so hard to attain over the years failed me in just one second. You see, I always had a pretty simple and nice life. And all of a sudden I found myself in my very own desert. 

God literally told me: "You are in your desert, Ashley" and my response in typical Ashley style was: "Why me? Where did I go wrong? What did I do?  I was a good, sweet, Christian girl. I love the Lord with all my heart, my soul, and mind. I pray, I listen to my mum. So what did I do to deserve this?

And this is the exact mindset God wanted to break in me and the only place He could do that is in the desert.

God said: "It's not that you did anything wrong. But you prayed some prayers that led you to this place. You prayed and you asked me to do something new. Do you remember?

Of course, I remember. I wrote an entire Blog Post about it and how new wine needs new wineskins. Click here to check it out! Let me tell you something about our God. Especially all of you guys who are just like me, trying to be all extra with your prayers...just doing the most:

"Oh Lord, use me for Your glory... I'll go wherever you send me... I wanna live for you, have your way in me..." 

These are not just empty words, these are the desires of our hearts and they will lead us straight into the desert. 

Don't get it twisted girl, God is not deaf that He can't hear and He is still in the business of answering prayers. Always has and always will be. And I'm not encouraging you to stop praying this kind of prayers ( I would never!!) but just know that God will prepare you for what you're praying for. 

There are certain prayers that will have you in the desert sooner than you think.

But God wouldn't be God if He didn't have us in the desert for a season of our lives to teach us something. He is a good Father and even though I am still in the desert myself I want to share 4 Lessons I have learned in the desert so far.

1.

God will never expose your full potential in your comfort zone.
- Chanda Abijah @awalkinhershoes 

 Its been a while since I last used my favorite people as an example so here you go (for the sake of our tradition)

The Israelites: They had to go through the desert for 40 whole years. Guys imagine! 40 years in the desert. God called them out of Egypt, out of slavery to bring them into a promised land. But between Egypt and the land flowing with milk and honey, there was a desert. The problem with the Israelites was that their minds weren't ready to tap into the promise. 

God called them out of Egypt because there they couldn't become who they were supposed to be. Egypt was their comfort zone. 

There are some things God promised you that you can't step into because you're still carrying your baggage from Egypt. 

Your Egypt could be your Childhood or your past relationship or your mistakes. Whatever Egypt is for you, God wants to set you free from that kind of mentality and He will do that in the desert.

Just like the Israelites couldn't take their ideology from Egypt with them to the promised land, they couldn't take their slave mindset into a land where they have been called to freedom. The same way you can't enter what God has for you while you're stuck on something God has freed you from. He just can't use that where He is taking you so He is releasing you from it in isolation which is the desert.

2. 

You'll have to trust God with everything... and I mean E-VE-RY-THAANG! The Israelites again: They had to depend on God in the desert for Manna. Daily. Every single day they had to trust that the same way Adonai provided yesterday He will provide again. When they tried to save food from the day before it would be rotten in the morning. The same goes for the woman in Revelation 12. The Bible tells us that God brought her into the desert and He cared for her there 1,260 days (Revelation 12:6). 

After Abraham sent Haggai and Ishmael away to the desert God prepared a stream of water in the desert so that they wouldn't die there. The desert is a dry and uninhabited place. There is no one to rely on in the desert except God. Learn to trust God and depend on Him for everything in the desert and in every other season after that.

3. 

The reason you're in the desert is you carry something the devil is after. That's pretty scary, right? But let's face it. The woman in Revelation 12 was pregnant with a savior and that's why the enemy was after her. That which is on the inside of you. The purpose, potential, and anointing you carry is a dangerous threat to the camp of the devil. If you give birth to the seed God has placed inside of you; not only will you be set free but you will set others free as well and might even break generational curses and change an entire nation. You have the power to do so. The only reason for this much opposition is the amount of potential you carry. 

After Jesus was baptized He was led straight into the desert to face His opponent the devil, satan. Jesus was about to start His ministry, He was about to deliver the oppressed, He was going to heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind and change an entire mindset of religious people to finally understand the concept of Grace. He was going to overcome death and that surely wasn't in the interest of the devil and his little agents. Their plan is to take as many people with them on their way down and he knows he only has a little time left. 

We all know what Jesus did to defeat the evil one in the desert. He stood on the word of God. His bond with the Father and His knowledge of the word equipped Him to overcome the enemy in the desert. God has equipped you with every tool you need to overcome. Just stay prayerful and study your word. You were made to overcome the devil. Just like Jesus said the devil is after me but he has nothing in me. (John 14:30) He has nothing in you because the same spirit that is in Jesus is in you. 

4.

The desert is not your final destination.

The dsert is actual proove that God is taking you somewhere. Its a sign of elevation. Even Jesus had to go through the desert bfore starting His ministry. And there was deliverance for all mankind behind the wilderness. 

What I had to understand is this: The desert serves a purpose. The desert is not a punishment. And God hasn't abandoned me in the desert. It's there to shape you, build you and equip you before you fully tap into your purpose and God's promise. 

The desert is more of a transit. There is a promised land for you. There is always something after the desert. God doesn't bring you into the desert to leave you there - He brings you there to take you somewhere. But what you need to know is that there are no shortcuts in the desert. The only way you will prolong your desert season is disobedience. - @unashamed_of_the_gospel

Moses never made it to the promised land because of disobedience, unbelief and a mindset he just wasn't able to abandon. 

God took the Israelites on a journey that could have taken 11  days for 40 years because of their disobedience and hardened hearts. This shows that God will have you in the desert as long as it will take you.  So the best thing to do is surrender, trust and obey Him.

Know that God is with you even in the desert. He will be a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He is with you,  heaven is rooting for you and you were made to overcome the desert. So keep pushing, there is a promised land flowing with milk and honey on the other side for you and you will surely get there. Just don't give up, desert Child.

Yours, Ashley.