I am a firm believer in the seasons of life. I've even done a blog post about it a while ago here on our blog.
I've grown up in a Christian home as a child and was fortunate enough that my parents decided to start walking in a relationship with the Father - rather than just sitting in church and labeling ourselves as Christians.
Along this journey, where I had to make my own decision to also follow the Father with all my heart - I started appreciating the seasons of life. To be more specific - the winter / wilderness seasons. Even though time and again when I face a winter season - it is so damn hard and it knocks me down to my knees - I am left in awe of God's faithfulness.
This past year Father revealed to me that we are called to be a set apart nation unto Him, in more depth than I could have ever comprehended before. And no, it's not something that He only revealed to me because I'm special or anything. No. It's been written in Scripture for thousands of years. The difference came in that I had to make the decision to start spending quality time dwelling in the Scriptures. Learning about God's heart and His desires for His kids.
Along this journey I have prayed that God will take me through His holy fire. To take me through the pruning process. And yes, of course I knew that it would mean that I'm signing up to face some hard things. But I knew that whatever was not rooted in Christ, will not stand the fire. And I will come out on the other side - a purified Bride. And that is my heart's desire.
When we ask and allow God to sanctify our hearts, we must KNOW that God WILL send us into seasons of hardship / send us into the wilderness. Because it's in the wilderness that the father will humble and empty us. We are all broken people and we all come from bloodlines of imperfect people - because we are human. It's in the wilderness where God will not only reveal to us our brokenness - the true condition of our hearts. But it's also in the wilderness where God will start to heal our hearts. You see, it's only once we get to a place of complete brokenness that we can realize our dependence on God. It's in the wilderness where the Father can start to teach us
But the world has conditioned us to keep a mask on. To pretend that everything is fine. No one is allowed to show that they struggle. Because "what will the people say?" I'm not saying mutter out all of your life drama on social media. Please no! I'm saying get off social media where you pretend that you've got it all figured out and under control & ask God to take you into the wilderness. Because trust me girl - when you get out of there - you're going to be a hell of a lot stronger!
People are so prideful and conditioned to maintain a certain image of themselves to the world that they become too scared to allow God to take them to the wilderness. What will the people say? What if you no longer can control the situations? What if you break down? To the person reading this! When you have come to this point - where you no longer care about what the world says about your journey, where you no longer try to control your life, where you break down at the feet of the King of kings. Then my sweet girl - you are at THE very best place you could ever find yourself at!
During the past year, I asked the Father to take ALL of me through the pruning fire and burn away what's not rooted in Him. And I knew that it would hurt. I knew that things in my life would change as a result. I've counted the cost & I knew that it was still worth it. Despite the pain that the wilderness might bring. Despite the fact that I won't be in control (MASSIVE for someone who used to control everyyyy single thing in her life). Despite the fact that life as I knew it would change. Despite all of it! It was (& still is) my heart's desire.
2020 was such a massive year to each and everyone on the blue little dot we call earth. But it's been honestly the absolute BEST year of my life! The hardest one too, that's for sure. With what's happening in the world but also with what happened in my wilderness. But I'm beyond thankful for the journey.
I'm not out of the wilderness yet. On 3 January 2020, I posted a quote on my personal Instagram that said - "even in the fire, I'm alive in You!" Little, very little, did I understand the significance of what that words for the season I've entered in.
While we are in the wilderness, God will prune away everything that's not inline with His Kingdom principles. But He won't just prune - He will also teach us why! God is the greatest gentleman of all times! He created mankind with a free will and He will NEVER force us to do anything. That's why we have to make the decision ourselves to ask Him to take us into the wilderness. To lay down our lives and to take up the cross. To allow God to teach us His ways and His principles. It's in the wilderness where the Father will teach us about holy ground which means living holy. We cannot live a life of holy-making if we are not purified.
Without God's instructions, and living in His Kingdom principles - we will perish. It's in the wilderness where God will prepare our hearts to receive His instructions. It's in the wilderness where He will empty us from ourselves so that we could receive His instructions and so that we will be able to walk according to it. It's in the wilderness where God will teach us to draw near to Him, to walk with Him, to continuously dwell in His presence. It's about getting to a place where you can allow God to reveal His heart to you and give you His instructions. And you cannot get to that place without going through the fire, going through the wilderness. You absolutely cannot!
You cannot walk with the Father if you do not embrace holiness. And we cannot embrace holiness if we haven't gone through the wilderness. Holiness cannot co-exist with worldliness.
Holiness is NOT a matter of being spiritual or religious or spiritually prideful and living as if you are better than others. Yuck! Holiness is about understanding the principle that we are called to be set apart. We are called to NOT conform to the standards of the world. Holiness is about getting in right standing with God. Holiness is about a place you enter in, where you allow the Father to strip you of everything and anything that's not His will and His way! It's a place where you allow (free choice) God to purify you in the fire - until His character and nature, His instructions and Who HE IS, will be evident in your life.
So it's up to you to make the decision. When will you allow God in? When will you lay down yourself? Your control? Your ways? When will you decide that following God is more important, than what the people might say? When will you ask God to take you through the wilderness?
I'm by no means out of the wilderness of my own life. And I probably won't get out of it very soon either haha. But even in the fire, I'm alive in YOU! Although the wilderness is not a pleasant / comfortable place to be in. I have come to love it to an extent I never thought possible. It's no longer I that live, but Christ Who lives in me. And for that reason - I will continue to ask the Father to burn away everything and anything that is not rooted in Him!
Even in the fire, I'm alive in YOU!