THE BRIDE'S
TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS
By Pastor
Dick
If I were to select the best
picture of the Bride of Christ out of all the portraits of her that are shown
through the words in the Bible, I would choose the one portrayed in this
scripture: "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her
beloved?" (S.of S. 8:5).There are many other great pictures of her
throughout the Bible, but the reason this one is so special is that it shows the
Bride of Christ happy, healthy, mature and leaning upon the arm of the
Lord.
If you look closely at my
favorite portrait of the Bride, you will notice what it was that helped so much
in her spiritual progress. The Bible shows her COMING UP FROM THE WILDERNESS as
she is leaning on her Beloved. There is nothing that helps us mature as much as
a trip through the wilderness. (That is, if we learn to come out of it leaning
on the Lord.)
The word "wilderness"
in Hebrew means "desert," in Greek it means
"lonely." It is
true that, although we who belong to Christ have unlimited riches, we still go
through some dry and barren wastelands while we are here on earth.
Don't think that you are
unspiritual when you find yourself in a desert facing a lot of temptations.
Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness where he was tempted of the
devil (Matt. 4:1). And one of the temptations Satan will use on you when you are
in the wilderness is to tempt you to doubt your relationship with Christ. He has
a powerful weapon aimed at you with a key in his hands to activate it. If it is
unleashed against you, it could destroy your life. If you are hit with this
weapon, it could strip away your security by breaking down your faith. It could
plunder your joy, diminish your hope, and get you to think that you are an
unloved, forsaken orphan rather than a victorious child of the
King.
This weapon is aimed at your
mind; that is the place where Satan will launch his greatest attack against you.
He has devised this weapon to blow away your identity. If he scores a direct hit
on you, you may be so devastated that you won't know who you are or to whom you
belong.
I almost hesitate to name
this weapon because it is such a common word and you have heard it so much that
you may not fear it the way you should. The weapon is called "DOUBT" and
it is deadly. It is like a guided missile poised on the launch pad, zeroed in
for a direct hit on your identity.
Satan is the great master of
deceit. This weapon of doubt will appear to be striking at God, when it really
is aimed directly at you. Satan used this tactic to deceive Eve in the Garden of
Eden when he implied that God lied to her (Gen.3:4- 5). If he can get you to
believe a wrong concept of God; such as, Him being a hard taskmaster rather than
a loving Heavenly Father, then you will be afraid to stay close to the Lord and
will want to run away from His presence.
The other path taken by this
deadly weapon called "DOUBT" will not be toward the identity of God; it is set
for a direct hit on your own identity. If you have received Christ as your
Savior and Satan can persuade you to accept a wrong concept of your identity as
a beloved child of God, then you will become an easy prey for his vicious
attacks.
The key that Satan has to
unlock this deadly weapon of doubt appears to be small, because it is only a
two-letter word; but it can activate an incredible force against you. The key is
called "IF."
The devil tried to use this
key on Jesus and he will try to use it on you. When Jesus was hungry from
forty days and nights of fasting in the wilderness, Satan said to Him, "IF
thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread . . . IF thou be
the Son of God, cast thyself down from the pinnacle of the temple" (Matt.
4:3-6). Jesus knew who He was and did not have to perform a miracle to prove His
identity.
When you are in a weak
position Satan will speak to you—usually through your own thoughts, although it
could be through another person—and say, "IF you are a child of God, why are you
having such a difficult time?" He will put an evil thought in your head and then
say, "IF you are a Christian, why are you thinking such things?" He will tempt
you to sin against God and then say to you, "IF you are a true believer, why do
you have these temptations?" His great desire is to get you to doubt your
identity as a beloved child of God.
When the Bride comes out of
the wilderness she is mature and no longer listens to the devil who is the
accuser of the brethren (Rev.12:10). Nor does she hear the legalistic preacher
who is trying to move her away from God's grace into the bondage of trying to
become righteous through the law. She does not give ear to her own flesh when it
tries to place her under condemnation (Rom. 8:1). She has been in the wilderness
where she learned to walk by faith and listen to the voice of the Lord. This is
what she is hearing from Him: "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot
in thee,"and she hears Him call her names like "My flawless one"
(S.of S. 4:7; 5:2). She is now secure in her true identity, which gives her the
courage to face the eleventh hour crisis that is about to come upon this earth.
And she is now ready and eagerly waiting for the Bridegroom to return to rapture
her into a new dimension where she will sit at His banqueting table and spend
eternity in glory with Him.
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