Through the Wilderness

Our life's journey can be bewildering, and never more so than during difficult times. This is true for us and for some of the most spiritually gifted people in history. Consider the Prophet Elijah after his victory over the priests of Baal. He not only witnessed a great miracle from God, he experienced it. But when the wicked queen Jezebel threatened his life he fled in panic, and when he came to a place of rest he prayed he might die. What happened to this great man of God? The same thing that can happen to us as we walk this spiritual path that is unlike any other. "Through the Wilderness" reveals the map of God's way that is contained in the seven festivals (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, etc.). It shows how our spiritually fallen condition requires us to undergo various procedures to be made healthy, fruitful and at peace. This path unfolds in three stages and this book illustrates them by showing how the great saints of the Christian faith experienced them. The first stage is the wilderness, and its humbling intent can literally flatten us, as it did Elijah. It was a phase frequently experienced by the great preacher C. H. Spurgeon. He suffered from depressions so deep he oftentimes could not preach, yet even this was part of God's plan for him and he knew it. D. L. Moody, the great evangelist, went through the wilderness for many days before his mighty anointing. And this was also part of the path and God's plan. While in the wilderness we can feel lost. It is typical for those walking on the Way to feel they are no longer on it even while God is making His greatest sanctifying progress. What is needed is a map, a guide illustrating this Way unlike any other, and "Through the Wilderness" provides this map. Some of the richest illustrations of the nature of the Way come from great saints who are scarcely known: Jeremiah Lanphier, Jon Goon Kim, and Peter Waldo. Wilderness experiences become much harder to deal with when we cannot understand why they are happening. So "Through the Wilderness" places our suffering within the context of the way God would have us walk. It is a path no one could have designed but God, and as this book shows, it is the only one that makes perfect sense.