The Backside of the Desert

“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”   Ps 27:13

“Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring.  Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.”     Ps 27:14

“But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint.”   Is 40:31

“Quitting is not an option.  It’s not an option.  What we are a part of is way too important for you to quit.  Jesus said you couldn’t quit.”  Todd Mullins

Take courage I have not left you.  David became very discouraged.  He had been anointed king but instead of ruling he spent years running away from Saul in the back side of the desert.  This was not the life of an anointed king being chased around like a beggar with a rag tag bunch of men.  Yet this was My perfect plan.  It was here on the backside of the desert that David—My chosen leader of Israel—learned to trust Me.  He learned to look to Me for encouragement.  He learned to look to Me for strength and direction.  He learned that his value and worth came from who I said he was not who his circumstances said he was.  Here he learned to wait upon Me.  He learned to not despair, but to take courage in My Word.  It is here, wrestling with the depths of despair, that I prepared his heart for leadership.  The wilderness is not a place for losers; it’s a place for My anointed in training.  So, take courage—actually reach out and latch on to the promises I have placed in your heart.  And above all seek Me.  Spend your time pursuing Me not your destiny.  I will bring your future as you chase after Me.