Genesis 28:10-11 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
“Wilderness is not a punishment. It’s God’s preparation for His promise” – Dr. Shermaine Y. Sanders.
Wilderness is where dreams that lead us to our destiny are birthed. Pearls are formed by oysters and mussels as a natural defence against parasites that enter the shell to damage it. The oyster or mussel secretes aragonite and conchiolin which are calcium carbonate and protein fiber that encases the irritant or the parasite. Pearls are formed by layers and layers of organic material coated over the parasite. In short, it is a colour coated parasite! The promise is the pearl hidden in the wilderness of persecution or pain.
In the wilderness we are attacked by parasites. However the problem is the substance that is going to turn into a pearl. The persecution is the pathway to the promise. Jacob ran for his life, from his home after cheating on his brother Esau. He was running into the ‘wilderness of unknowns’. He left the comfort of his home and mamma into the cacophony of his mistakes and mess. The cunning and conniving Jacob was masked with shame and stigma as he stepped into the wilderness that shaped him into Israel. He left home as Jacob, the crafty man, but returned home from the wilderness as Israel, God’s chosen. It was in the ‘wilderness of the unknown’ that Jacob dreamt dreams and discovered his mission. In the wilderness the Lord reiterated the promise that was given to his grandfather Abraham, “Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.” (Genesis 28:14a).
Discover your dream in the desert and find your mission in the wilderness of the unknown. God will turn the parasite into the platform on which the promise will be built.
Discover your dream in the wilderness:
1. Parasite: Your problem is the parasite that is going to turn into the pearl. A strange, smooth, flawless sea pearl can be valued as high as $100,000+USD! The wilderness of the unknown and mysterious journey is what makes us valuable. The parasite or the problem cannot hurt us; rather it will turn into a valuable pearl!
2. Process: A pearl takes anywhere between 6 months to several years to form. A parasite that comes to attack the oyster is coated by the enzymes to form the precious pearl. Likewise, as we coat the problem and persecution with prayer, promises and praises it turns into promotion. Praise kills the parasite/problem. The process to progression in the wilderness is proclamation and prayer.
3. Promise: Promises are birthed in the wilderness. Apply the PUSH principle in the wilderness. ‘Pray Until Something Happens’. PUSH until you give birth to the promise.
Wilderness will turn the parasite into a pearl.
Genesis 32:28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[f] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Prayer: Papa God, give me the tenacity to PUSH until the parasite/problem turns into a valuable pearl. Amen.
Leave a Reply