When God Speaks a Blessing, and You Experience Bain Instead
“But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus” Galatians 1: 15- 17.
God revealed himself to the Apostle Paul in a spectacular way (Acts 9: 3-7). He then went into the Arabian desert for three years.
There is a principle here that can be seen throughout the word of God. To read the rest of this passage for context, click here.
When God Speaks
When God speaks a promise to us, we will often go into the wilderness shortly thereafter. The wilderness represents the opposite experience of God’s promise to us.
The Israelites were promised a land flowing with milk and honey. What they got instead was a dead, dry, barren wilderness. One that couldn’t even sustain life without supernatural intervention (Exodus 15: 22-18: 27).
God spoke to Abraham that within a year he would have a son with his wife Sarah. But the next thing we hear is Sarah is taken into the harem of King Abimelech. How was she going to bear his child when she was married to another man (Genesis 18: 1-15, 20: 1-7)?
He experienced what seemed to be the opposite of God’s promise.
A Contradiction of the Promise
Joseph was given the promise of being a great ruler. But instead, he became a slave and prisoner for many years (Genesis 37: 18-36, 39). Quite the opposite of God’s promise.
I’ve experienced this too. God spoke to me that my son Sam would survive his cancer relapse just weeks before he landed in the PICU and almost died. Click here to read the story.
God gave Paul a glorious promise that he would preach the gospel to the Gentiles. But his next experience was in the wilderness. Presumably alone and isolated. A far cry from the promise God had given him.
When God gives us a word for the future, we can just about expect our next experience will be the opposite of what God just promised us.
Every one of the believers above eventually experienced the fulfillment of the promise. But not before they passed the test of their faith that is the wilderness experience. So too with us. Be encouraged by their stories.
To read a post related to When God Speaks a Blessing, and You Experience Bane Instead, see How to Reap a Harvest when Plowed by Painful Trials.