Encouragement

The Wilderness Experience

by felix gbemudu
02/26/16
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It was a Monday morning the weather was quite good, Fidelis had just stepped into the office to begin the day’s work when he got a reassignment mail to go to another branch of the bank he was working at that time. This didn’t sit well with him and he decided to quit the job, leaving was the beginning of a journey in the wilderness which lasted about 4 to 5 years. Before this happened Fidelis had prayed that God should reveal Himself in his life as Jehovah Jireh, weather this situation was an answer to the prayer or just a coincidence that I cannot say for sure.

Fidelis became jobless and of course there were bills to be settled, life had to go on. But fidelis had no other source of income, so he jumped on his savings and squandered it all. The mortgage and car loan payments began to pile up month after month, and the following days and month became dark and gloomy with no solution in sight.

Fidelis submitted CV’s to so many companies and none of them replied, it was disappointment after disappointment. Even so called close friends who Fidelis sought their help never helped out they were always full of excuses (another disappointment). Before this time, Fidelis thought people will be kind to him, he soon discovered that the world was a selfish and wicked world. Though family showed kindness at certain times but betrayal and disappointment also came from family.

During this time God showed that He is dependable and intervenes through strangest of all ways. Once Fidelis had just finished his morning prayers and someone calls on the phone saying in quote “Something says I should give you some money” wow! Fidelis was elated as the money went a long way paying some bills and buying some food. On another occasion Fidelis prayed over his car because he didn’t have money for servicing it, the car never broke down but rather remained reliable. All he did all day sometimes was to read his bible and pray.

Tired of not getting quick results to prayers about work and change in the situation of his finances Fidelis became frustrated and depression set in as he was now broke, all his savings was exhausted. Asking people for money and other stuff is one of the most difficult things to do and a bad place to find yourself in life as Fidelis will later explain. Sometimes he prays in tears; as confusion had set in and the future was looking bleak and it appeared as if the whole troubles had no end.

One day Fidelis woke up from sleep and in his spirit the question echoed and re-echoed [The Just Shall Live by What?] of cause Faith, then the next question came up [how does faith come?] Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.  Immediately Fidelis picked up his bible and began to search the word of God for scriptures that pertain to his situation. These scriptures will be discussed below.

Before delving into highlighting the scriptures one very important lesson in the wilderness is that God wants you to SOLELY depend on Him. Nothing must contest with the attention you give to HIM. For this reason; all our cares, spiritual and material needs, our focus and hope must be to Him only if we expect Him to provide. Fidelis depended on family and friends that failed him especially when it mattered most. The arm of flesh will always fail but God our Father never fails us [Jeremiah17:5, 2Chr.3:28, 1Peter5:7, Psalm27:10 KJV].

You must continuously renew your mind with the word of God. This re-energizes you, keeps the hope and faith alive. During the wilderness experience it is important to stay away from negative people, people that destroy hope and contaminate faith. For as a man thinks so he is, you cannot have a future different from the picture of the future you have in your spirit. Fidelis often Fellowshipped with God as this helped him to wait for God patiently. Meditating on the word of God is the sure way to prosperity [Romans 12:2, Joshua 1:8 KJV].

One of the very important scripture that helped Fidelis in the wilderness was about sowing and reaping. For God gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Fidelis always sowed a portion of moneys he received from good Samaritans and he discovered he never dried up financially during this period. [2 Corinthians 9:10, Isaiah 55:10, Genesis 8:22 KJV]

Second scripture has to do with honoring your father and mother so it shall be well with you. This provokes the heavens to bring good into your life. Fidelis always ensured he honored his parents in several ways that he could afford during and after the wilderness experience [Deuteronomy 5:16 KJV].

Fidelis found a way to give to the needy and also to the poor during this time of his life. Some who don’t understand the scripture will see this as stupid or foolish. For God says in Proverbs 19:17 [KJV] He who gives to the poor lends to God and He will give him is reward. Giving also provokes giving Luke 6:38 [KJV] explains this very clearly. So Fidelis engaged in giving and also received.

Another thing Fidelis often did, which I do not really have a scripture to explain, but can be predicated on Philippians 4:19[KJV] and Habakkuk 2:2[KJV]. He always wrote down his needs and what he wants in future and prayed about it, even though his economic circumstances looked bleak at that time. He can testify that God always supplied his needs and took him into a bright future at the end.