When we first give our lives to Christ we are often made to believe that life will become simple and trouble-free, but as we get deeper in our walk with God, we realize that is not the reality. There will be tough times; which we refer to as “The Wilderness Experience”.
The wilderness experience can be likened to being stuck between a rock and a hard place, this is when everything that could possibly go wrong in ones life all start to go wrong. From the loss of a job, eviction, inability to provide for oneself, separation from spouses and every other hardship we can think of. And through it all, it seems friends have abandoned us, God is silent and we are all alone.
When faced with these experiences we question God’s love and care for us. We ask if God really loves us, why would He allow bad things to happen or tough times to befall us? At time like this we need not be worried but encourage ourselves in the Lord like David did. God has already filled us with power to withstand tough times, He allows hard times to bring out the best in us just like gold, silver and other precious gems go through fire for purification and refining. How we walk through this process will determine how we emerge.
Pastor Gloria Irabor