Lessons Learned? – March 28, 2015

Numbers 32:13     The LORD's anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.

James 5:7-8      Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

1 Peter 1:14      As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

Acts 5:29      But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

I just heard someone say that they had to learn something over and over. It just struck me as odd that they said they had to learn it over and over; my question is that if you learned it why do you have to do it over and over? That’s just how I thin. I took it to another lever in my thinking in that because the person had to repeat the lessons I surmised that there are different levels in the process….

Our desire for quick fixes and immediate gratification can do one of two things:

1)      We can sit with the lesson and learn from it. We can experience the teaching in its fullness when we sit with it and look for the message that is provided to develop our characters.

2)      We can take the message in stride only to have to repeat the lesson again at some point in our lives

God desires our obedience. He wants us to get the lesson. Through the lessons we develop character and strength. If we fail to learn and obey we are setting ourselves up to repeat the lesson

“Wilderness wandering” refers to the predicament of the Israelites due to their disobedience and unbelief. The Lord delivered His people from Egyptian bondage as described in Exodus, chapters 1–12. They were to take possession of the land God had promised their forefathers, a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). Prior to entry, however, they became convinced they could not overthrow the current inhabitants of the land, even though God told them they could. Their lack of belief in God’s word and promises brought forth the wrath of God. He cursed them with forty years of wilderness wandering until the unbelieving generation died off, never stepping foot in the Promised Land.