A QUARANTINE BLESSING Part 1

We have all become very familiar with the word Quarantine as of late, due to the Pandemic.

Previously Quarantine was barely heard of, and even less spoken about.

Quarantine was unfamiliar, scary, and weird for many of us.

What is it? Why is this happening? Where did this come from? How long will it last? Were some of the most frequently asked questions.

What good could possibly come from it! Many were saying.

I saw our time of quarantine was very similar to the time when the children of Israel were in the wilderness. They were isolated and cut off from civilization just as we were.

I wondered what they experienced. How did they feel? What did they learn?

The purpose of a wilderness is change and transformation.

I wonder what changes and transformations we are supposed to make.

We can experience a wilderness in many ways; a pandemic, the economy, sickness, an accident, an unforeseen event, the death of a loved one, loss of housing, employment, or income, to name a few.

The children of Israel were being forced to move and have their mindset changed.

Sometimes you can be in a situation so long that you get a bad mindset.

Gods’ children were never meant to be slaves to anyone.

Sometimes we form unhealthy habits.

Recently I read an article which stated that more than 40% of the actions we perform daily are out of habit, and not because of a conscious decision being made to do something.

The study went on to cite that most things happen because of habit, which is counterintuitive to the thinking that one can just decide to do a thing and it will suddenly appear. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no magic wand.

Real Change is an experience, not an Event.

It is only through our sustained, daily routines and regular actions that we can achieve lasting results.

Good daily routines set us up for the greatest blessings we will ever see.

Everyday routines are what alter our trajectory. Our destiny is chosen based upon the routines we subscribe to.

The children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness for more than 40 years on a journey to their blessing that should have only taken them around 11 or so days to get there.

Gods plan was for them was to develop a personal routine during their wilderness experience which would sustain them in their next new land and new experiences.

Wilderness in Hebrew is the word BaMidbar, the root meaning is “to speak”.

There are a great many lessons to be heard and learned during our wilderness experiences.

We have all had our fair share of the wilderness, and there are more still yet to come. But the good news is that God will be with us just as he was with the children of Israel.

During those seasons God will speak to us, and it is here, that we should learn how to speak to him.

The children of Israel were in their wilderness for 40 years. Which means those who entered during their twenties did not leave until they were in their sixties, and those who entered during their forties, did not leave until they were in their eighties, and so on.

Again, remember the plan was to learn the lesson and move on.

But God would faithfully provide for all the estimated 3 million or so men, women and children who were in that wilderness.

Each, and every day they received a Quarantine Blessing.

The Bible says that in all our getting we should be sure to get an understanding.

Here are some of their learnings from their wilderness experience.

God allowed them to go into that quiet place, removed from all the outside noise, to limit the distractions, so they could hear him.             Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10.

Also, God wanted them to regain their identity. They had lost themselves; they no longer knew who they were. Sometimes we focus on who we have become more than who we were intended to be. They had gotten caught up in the hustle and bustle of Egypt. He wanted to remind them that the Egyptians were never meant to be their masters.  You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:10

Lastly, God wanted them to regain their ability to speak. For years they had been silenced by others. They lost their voice. They were children of the God who spoke and changed the environment. Yet they stopped speaking Gods Word.                  The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him with honesty in their heart. He fulfills the desires of those who reverence him; he also hears their cries and will save them. Psalm 45:18,19

It’s important to note that if we don’t learn the lessons in our wilderness, we might not make it to our promised land.

God set this time aside for them to redefine how they viewed themselves, and to reevaluate their capabilities and rediscover their relationship with him.                        

The wilderness is there to expose your heart…TO YOU!

God uses the wilderness to speak to us. Can you hear him?

GET QUIET, BE STILL, REMEMBER ALL I’VE DONE FOR YOU AND SPEAK MY WORD

This is a Thompson Truth