 There can be three types of deserts or wilderness in our life:
(a) The heat and pressure in our life have turned way up. (b) Our hearts have turned cold, with our passions gone. (c) We have given out so much that we feel empty with nothing left to give. Deserts may be a training ground. In the Bible, God met many significant figures in the wilderness, such as Moses. For example, in the desert, David earnestly sought God, and he learnt and grew. Psalm63:1. So, if we are in the wilderness, try not to get out in a hurry. Try to learn from the experience. Then, at least we can reduce the chance of getting there again. Let the valley of pain, suffering and darkness become our door of hope. Hosea2:15. Trust Him that at the right time, He will lead us out. When we are in the wilderness, keep doing what is right. Gal6:9. Also, consider doing the following: (a) Prepare to meet God there. Isaiah40:3-5. Stay alert, make ourselves available, and wait for Him expectantly. Psalm 5:3. (b) Plant seeds for spiritual growth. Listen to God’s word, retain it in a good and honest heart, and persevere to produce a crop. Luke8:11,15. (c) Eliminate unnecessary distractions. Prepare a straight, smooth road for God—Raising up valleys, lowering mountains, straightening out crooked paths, and leveling rough spots. Isaiah40:3-4. Focus on important things and say no to unimportant ones. Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians3:2. (d) Search and remove idols from our hearts. They can be false things our culture worships that we sacrifice our life for. Do not imitate the culture around us but remove those idols from our life and from our lips. Hosea2:17. If we follow worthless idols, we will become worthless. 2Kings17:15. If we cling to worthless things, we will forfeit God’s love. Jonah2:8. Instead, we should replace passions for idols with passions for God. (e) Praise God. Sing to Him because singing helps focus our attention. Psalms63:5,7. Hosea2:15. We can worship God with our songs, so keep songs in our hearts. That can be where God is going to meet us. To conclude, if we are in the wilderness, learn from the experience. Wait for God, prepare for Him, and praise Him so His glory can be revealed for everyone to see. Isaiah40:3-5. Summarized a sermon by Buddy Owens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWoRWyxvpEk from 20:30 在心灵的沙漠中找到上帝 我们的生活可能有三种类型的荒漠或旷野： （a）当我们生活的压力变得很高的时候。 （b）当我们的心变得冷漠, 我们的热情冷卻消失的时候。 （c）当我们付出太多，以至于感到空虚, 再无任何东西可以付出的时候。 荒漠可以成为训练地。在圣经中，许多重要人物在旷野中遇见上帝，摩西就是其中的一位。 大卫也在荒野中恳切地寻求上帝, 在那里学习和成长 （诗篇63：1）。 所以如果我们在“旷野”当中， 应该抓住这学习的机会, 不要急着逃离去。这样至少能够减少重返那里的机会。 让痛苦，苦难和黑暗之谷成为我们希望之门 （何西阿书2:15）。信靠上帝会在适当的时候带领我们走出旷野。 当我们身处旷野时，考虑做以下的事： （a）准备在那里迎见上帝 （以赛亚书40：3-5）。 保持警惕, 随时准备好, 期待地等候祂 （诗篇5：3）。 (b）为属灵成长种下种子。聆听上帝的话，持守在誠實善良的心裏，并坚持不懈，結出果实 （路加福音8：11,15）。 (c）消除不必要的干扰。預備一条平直和平坦的道路给上帝--填满山谷, 平整山丘, 把弯曲的路弄直，凹凸不平的地方弄平 （以赛亚书40：3-4）。 专注于重要的事情。思念上面的事，不要思念地上的事 （歌罗西书3：2）。 (d）搜寻并消除心中的偶像。这些偶像可以是我们牺牲自己生命所追寻, 社會文化所崇拜的虚假事物。 不要效法周围的文化。要从生命中, 嘴唇上除去那些偶像 （何西阿书2:17）。如果我们跟随毫无价值的偶像，也将变得毫无价值 （列王紀下17：15）。如果我们信奉一文不值的偶像，就会丧失上帝的爱 （约拿书2：8）。 相反地，我们应该用对上帝的热爱代替对偶像的激情。 （e）赞美上帝。向祂高歌, 因为歌唱有助集中注意力 （诗篇63：5,7； 何西阿书2:15）。我们可以通过歌唱来敬拜上帝，我们心中当时歌声涌流，那里可能是上帝与我们相遇的地方。 总而言之，如果我们身处旷野，就应该以此为学习的时机。 等候神，预备迎见并高声赞美祂。 让祂的荣耀显现给每个人看见 (以赛亚书40：3-5)。
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