{"id":2025,"date":"2016-09-05T22:28:21","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T22:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?p=2025"},"modified":"2016-09-05T22:28:34","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T22:28:34","slug":"gods-school-the-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?p=2025","title":{"rendered":"God’s School-The Desert"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"desert-road-300x202\"<\/a><\/h1>\n
\n


\nJesus rebuked Peter in Matthew 16:23,\u201c\u2026you do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.\u201d Which do you have in mind? Are you prepared, equipped, toughened for the season ahead?<\/em><\/p>\n

I had a problem. I was impatient to reach my destiny but the more impatient I became, the more God dragged his feet. I didn\u2019t know that God was about to bring me into his conditioning school to educate me for my calling and eventual restoration. God brought me into the desert\u00a0to speak tenderly to me,<\/i>\u00a0yes, but also to\u00a0humble and test my<\/i>\u00a0heart<\/i>. He used the very same program with the Patriarchs before they entered their Promised Land. They endured a season of difficulty that served to make them strong, firm, and steadfast.<\/p>\n

The Hebrew definition for wilderness means\u00a0place of the speaking.<\/i>\u00a0This is the place where you acquire the experiences to back up your beliefs and hear the Lord\u2019s voice. I learned not to run from pain or trouble because when we face our trials and fears, they may prove to be an avenue to our freedom.<\/p>\n

Jacob had to face his fears, doubts, motives of selfish ambition and striving. Have you ever struggled with any of these? He wrestled with the angel of God and hung on, (another good thing to do), until God blessed him with a new name but not before he received a limp that others could relate to. Why a limp? The limp is to remind us not to rely on ourselves but God.<\/p>\n

Another major regeneration comes about in our thinking during this time. We learn we are no longer to lean on our own understanding or minds of reason. The Holy Spirit now writes God\u2019s commands on our hearts and minds by His Spirit for each new situation in our lives. (Heb.10:16)<\/p>\n

We must learn to hear His voice and obey by following His guidance because we have never been this way before. As we obey, we become all He intends us to be. We can expect a time of setting apart from the world. He plans to do amazing things among us as we enter our promised land to represent Him.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s tour of the desert taught me about the great exchange: His strengths for my weakness, releasing those I love to His care, trusting Him for provision, relying on His faith when mine runs out, and finally, giving Him all the glory.<\/p>\n

How will this change your life? You will have a whole new perspective when you find that the very obstacles and troubling trials that bar your way at times become roads of opportunity, freedom, and hope for others. This transformation of thinking will increase your endurance to stay the course as you are being given the tools and weapons to fight the giants in your land.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s ask God to help us learn the lessons of the desert and overcome obstacles in our paths so that we can be one of whom it is said,<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is this coming up out of the wilderness leaning on her Beloved?\u201d(Song of Songs 8:5) And when God calls, you can confidently say,<\/p>\n

\u201cSend me!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jesus rebuked Peter in Matthew 16:23,\u201c\u2026you do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.\u201d Which do you have in mind? Are you prepared, equipped, toughened for the season ahead? I had a problem. I was impatient to reach my destiny but the more impatient I became, the more God […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1422,"url":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?p=1422","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":0},"title":"God’s School-The Desert","author":"hollysmith","date":"September 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Jesus rebuked Peter in Matthew 16:23,\u201c...you do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.\u201d Which do you have in mind? Are you prepared, equipped, toughened for the season ahead? I had a problem. I was impatient to reach my destiny but the more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"desert road","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hollywsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/desert-road-300x202.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2361,"url":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?p=2361","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":1},"title":"God\u2019s School-The Desert","author":"hollysmith","date":"June 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Jesus rebuked Peter in Matthew 16:23,\u201c...you do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.\u201d Which do you have in mind? Are you prepared, equipped, toughened for the season ahead? I had a problem. I was impatient to reach my destiny but the more impatient\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"images","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hollywsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/images.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1725,"url":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?p=1725","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":2},"title":"Lessons of the Desert-God’s Conditioning School","author":"hollysmith","date":"February 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Jesus rebuked Peter in Matthew 16:23, \u2026\"you do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.\" Which do you have in mind? Are you prepared, equipped, toughened for the season ahead? Jesus never said we wouldn't endure a season of difficulty but that after a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"desert road","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hollywsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/desert-road-300x202.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2161,"url":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?p=2161","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":3},"title":"Impression 6-2-17","author":"hollysmith","date":"June 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Stay the course-I am establishing you to stand strong and steadfast. There is no place for double-mindedness with Me. Follow through with the plans you have in Me. I am building a school of training. Believe your dreams, get your testimonies ready especially those related to the desert season because\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"images","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hollywsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/images.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2513,"url":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?p=2513","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":4},"title":"The Humble will be Exalted","author":"hollysmith","date":"April 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the time when the humble will be exalted. Those in the back will come forward to instruct and change places with those currently in authority. Those in authority cannot learn what God wants to teach them in the limelight. This will be a season when they will sit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"autumn-3753910__340","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hollywsmith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/autumn-3753910__340-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2812,"url":"https:\/\/hollywsmith.com\/?p=2812","url_meta":{"origin":2025,"position":5},"title":"A Desert Experience","author":"hollysmith","date":"June 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A Desert Experience A story in my life on our journey 15 years previously: Before going on our anniversary trip to Copper Mountain, I had a dream. I was biking through a nice neighborhood and came to a hill with Alan. 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