Wilderness Mentalities

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. Hebrews 4:1-2 NKJV

Hebrews chapters three and four describe what happened to the children of Israel in Old Testament times. Numbers 13-14 gives the account of the 12 spies who were sent into the land of Canaan to spy it out and bring back a report of what they saw. Ten of the spies confessed that what the Lord said about the land was true; it was a very fruitful land, flowing with milk and honey, but they could not believe that God would use them to take out the giants. They gave a negative report and caused the children of Israel to get into fear and rebellion. Only two (Joshua and Caleb) brought back a good report and encouraged the people to obey God and go in and possess the land that the Lord had promised them.

Hebrews 3-4 warns us not to fall into the same sins that the children of Israel did. They all saw the miracles that the Lord did for them in Egypt: the plagues, parting of the red sea and the supernatural provision of food and water for them in the dessert. Yet, they still refused to believe and obey God when faced with obstacles. The Lord had shown them His faithfulness over and over again, but they still chose to believe the bad report and operate in fear, doubt and unbelief, rather than obeying God. This is what could be called “wilderness mentalities.”

None of us are perfect and we can all get attacked with fear, doubt and unbelief. It is what we do about it that determines whether we will make progress or keep circling around the same mountain in the wilderness for the next 40 years or the rest of our lives.

Learning how to cast down wrong thinking, renewing our mind with the word of God and operating in faith is a process and the Lord is very patient with us while we are learning how to do this. Sadly though, some people are not willing to do what they need to to live a victorious Christian life, which is what I believe the promised land represents (there are no giants to contend with in Heaven).

There have been a few people over the years that I have poured into, tried to encourage and help equip them to become an overcomer, but it became evident after a while that they were not willing to do their part. They always seemed to revert back to believing the negative report or lies of the enemy and were unwilling to cast down wrong thinking, let go of destructive habits, close open doors on the enemy of their souls, etc. So, after a period of time, the Lord would give me a dream or cause me to hear a message or word about the Lord removing people from your life, etc.

When people are not willing to do their part to become fruitful and productive for the kingdom of God, often the Lord will move you on to help others who will. Hopefully, they will make it to heaven, they just won’t enjoy the victory in this life that Jesus died to give them.

Hebrews 10:35-39 says: Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. (NKJV).

I believe as we progress further into the end times, things are going to get harder. I encourage you all to spend time in the word and prayer to keep your faith strong so that you can do mighty feats for the Lord. God bless you all.

In Christ ~ Kelly Rowe