Times of Error and Correction

Going to the Desert

It has been said that there is a difference between the Northern land of Israel and the Southern land of Israel. The suggested difference is that in the north, where the climate allowed a much greater amount of crops, vegetation, and comfort was where most of the physical and problematic events occurred. This would then be compared to the south and the more dry and barren landscape where most of the spiritual events occurred. I am not sure if this holds up to be true in every instance in Scripture, but for many that I can recall in my mind it does seem like the Almighty works with people and what is happening in their hearts and minds when they are in the wilderness or desert.

This has been true of our journey. We have been on the road for 10 months and we have gone to the desert, quite literally, a couple times now and each time our Heavenly Father has been correcting us on issues that needed to be dealt with. The most recent was a trip to death valley. It is winter time and the temperatures are more moderate. Yet it is a remote area with rugged and sometimes dangerous roads to travel.

As this journey began, He made it possible for us to have a 4 wheel drive vehicle capable of pulling the pop-up camper He provided us with. They have been a wonderful blessing to us and He obviously gave us the equipment we needed for this journey. Yet we had grown too comfortable with it ... we were attributing too much to the vehicles and not enough to the Almighty which is a form of idolatry. I think we even commented that we would not be able to go to some of these places if it were not for the car we have. That is seriously wrong. If the Almighty wants us there, He will make it possible for us to be there ... it does not depend upon the vehicle we have. Looking back, we had been given some hints that we were doing something wrong. Now it was time to learn the lesson more directly. It is not the vehicle we trust in, it is His care and provision for us that we can count on. The details are too many to go into quickly, but we 'strangely' happened to have 2 flat tires in one evening. Yet He was watching out for us because we had just enough of everything to get some help at the moment, get the car fixed a couple days later, and be on our way knowing better how much we can depend on Him.

Our journey continues. We follow His leading from project to project. When we are in His will things are peaceful and go smoothly. When we start to err, we notice things getting difficult. All the while, our faith gets tested from time to time. We are not rich in monetary terms, but the experiences we have, the people we get to work with, and seeing the beauty of His ways continue to make life more full of depth than any amount of money could do.

Death Valley National Park

Barren Landscape It has been said that spiritually there is a major difference between the Northern and Southern parts of Israel. The suggested difference is that in the north, where the climate allowed a much greater amount of crops, vegetation, and comfort was where most of the physical and problematic events occurred. This would then be compared to the south and the more dry and barren landscape where most of the spiritual events occurred. I am not sure if this holds up to be true in every instance in Scripture, but for many that I can recall in my mind it does seem like the Almighty works with people and what is happening in their hearts and minds when they are in the wilderness or desert.

Times of Correction This has been true of our journey. We have been on the road for almost two years and we have gone to the desert, quite literally, a few times now. Each time our Heavenly Father has been correcting us on issues that needed to be dealt with.

Flat Tires in Death Valley Trusting the Car Probably the most memorable time is when we went to Death Valley National Park in California. We were there in the winter time so the temperatures were cooler. This is a remote area with rugged and sometimes dangerous roads to travel. At the start of our journey, the Almighty made it possible for us to have a Ford Explorer and a pop-up camper for our use. When we received them we did not know just how well suited these were for our needs in traveling. However ... we had grown too comfortable with them. We did not realize just how much we were depending on the vehicles for our care rather than seeking the One Most High. I think we even commented that we would not be able to go to some of the places we were traveling if it were not for having that type of car. That is wrong ... if the Almighty wants us someplace He can make it possible and it does not depend upon the vehicle we have. It was a form of idolatry though I did not realize it at the time.

A Warning One day we were led to travel through Titus Pass which is, at times, a narrow winding dirt road going through the mountains that parallel death valley. There was one point in particular that was narrow, steep, and slippery and which put my driving skills and the vehicles 4-wheel drive to the test. At one point, I just stopped the vehicle and we prayed for safety. This was our warning. At the moment we recognized where our true help comes from but it was not enough to change what had become a mindset about the vehicle.

Car Failure The next day we were led to go to the interior of Death Valley down to the playa. This is a far away place where relatively few go to. While there, we had a tire get low. I tried adding air to it and driving, but it was leaking too fast. I had to put our spare on. This was unexpected because we had 60,000 mile class E tires with only 20,000 miles on them. We continued on our way and were going to go back to our campground. Just before leaving the border of Death Valley National Park, another tire blew out. We were about 40 miles from the nearest town. We finally started realizing how unusual this was and wondered if we were doing something wrong. We then realized we had been depending on the car rather than the One Most High. We repented.

Lesson Learned We were able to get a cell phone signal by climbing just a little ways up from the road using the 911 system. Over the weeks prior to this, we had received some extra money ... Father prepared us for this event as it just covered the towing, a hotel, and two new tires for the car. It was a rough experience, but I am glad He is training us to stay close to Him.

A Fallen Canopy

Doubting in the Wilderness Sometimes people look back at the generation of Israelites that wandered through the wilderness and wonder why they doubted so much. They had witnessed the plagues of Egypt and yet they forgot how the Almighty cared for them. They would complain, be fearful, or think they somehow knew what was better than the One Most High. I sympathize with them because I have seen how quickly I can follow that same pattern.

Wanting Shade Several months after Death Valley, we were below the White Tank Mountains outside of Phoenix, Arizona. It was still early summer and the temperatures were over 100 degrees much of the day. We were just beginning a series of tent camping and purchased a canopy to use over the picnic table for protection. It was somewhat comfortable in the shade. Within a few days I made the comment that I did not know how we could be in that location if we did not have that canopy. Idolatry appeared in the form of depending on our equipment again.

The Shade Disappears Immediately a strong wind came up. I grew up in Ohio and have a good feel for what a 25 mph wind feels like. I have experienced gusts up to about 50 mph. This seemed stronger. As I reached around me to hold down the items flying off the picnic table the canopy frame buckled, bent, and came down. This time I recognized immediately what I had just said and we repented quickly.

Going to Oklahoma with No Gasoline

Sometimes our faith is strong, but our logic still gets in the way.

We were in the state of Washington when we received a letter about a meeting that would be taking place for a small bunch of believers in Oklahoma. We were being invited to go and after prayer I felt that we were supposed to go there. This would be a big undertaking and it was decided to swing through Idaho to drop off our camping trailer with family and then proceed down to Oklahoma with just a car and tenting supplies for camping. This might have been a normal trip except for one challenge ... at the moment, I had part of a tank of gas and only about $20 to spend. We needed to get from Idaho all the way to Oklahoma, spend a week at a campground with purchasing probably at least some food, and travel back to Idaho. Logically, this seems impossible.

However, I had heard multiple stories of believers / missionaries who were able to miraculously travel great distances without any fuel. After everything we had recently been through, my faith was strong and I was ready to go to Oklahoma. Sadly, though, I was talking myself into believing that we were going to have a miracle of that same sort so that we would have a great amount travels with no gas because in my mind I saw no other way for it to work. So early that morning we got in the car and we left Idaho and drove maybe for about an hour before I heard the engine sputtering and the car shutting off. We pulled off to the side of the road, we were out of gas, and we did not seem to be continuing on as this became a little lesson in faith and blind faith.

There is a difference between faith and blind faith. When Abraham was told by the Almighty to go out from his father's land to land at showed them the Abraham was not going out and blind faith he had a promise from the Almighty said he would go out he would be given the land and he would be taken care of although Abraham did not go where know where he was going he could have faith in that promise you could trust Elohim to fulfill what he said he would do. If Abraham had gone out on his own end just then expected the Almighty to provide for him that would be going out on blind faith and a way that would be somewhat stupid and he could get into a lot of trouble because he is not necessarily doing what Father wants him to do.

That is where I was as we were beside the road out of gas. I had stepped out in blind faith. I was trying to force a miracle. I had talked myself into expecting a miracle of traveling with no gas when that had never been promised or mentioned in prayer or otherwise. As it was so early in the morning there was not much traffic we were there probably for close to two hours before someone stopped and helped by getting me up to a gas station and where I could get a gallon of gas for the car and get it to a station.

During that two hours, I realized what I should be doing is everything I regularly would do as far as I can and then, when a genuine need arises, Father would take over. If I have not already stated it in this book, then I will say it now that a need often comes much later than we think it should ... that often, what we call the last minute is, from a Heavenly perspective, at the right time. So we had $20 dollars worth of gas and we drove most of the morning. As the tank was again approaching empty, we suddenly received a phone call from some individuals who do support us and occasionally send us money through an electronic transfer. They were calling to say that they were about to send us money. We pulled into a town and we waited until they said it was done (by Western Union I think) and then we picked up our money and it was close to $500 if I remember correctly. Just as we were running out of money and gas and ability to do things on our own in the physical, Father came through with the money that we need to travel down to Oklahoma and for the campground.

We were able to get back into the swing of things, enjoy fellowship for a week, and return to Idaho. It was an incredible trip.

I know some of you, both believers and unbelievers, might try to say that such events were just coincidences or luck. But how many dozens, or hundreds of times does it take before accepting that it is not coincidence or luck? These are just a few of the great many events I could recall.