Ten Hindrances to your fullness of blessings (part 1 of 2)

“This is why you had to stay in Kadesh as long as you did.” (Deuteronomy 1:46, CJB)

If your life is going in circles, you have not yet entered into the fullness of your blessings. Your situation may promise great things but ends up in disappointment. Things progress well but then… a thud. Dead end. You may be going through a wilderness experience.

We all go through our own wildernesses. The smartest thing to do then is to obtain the greatest good we can out of it. The Israelites went through their wilderness but the majority of them never came out. They went in circles until the day they expired.

Kadesh-barnea: The acid test whether you are ready to enter your promised land or not

Kadesh-barnea was the border to the promised land. It was here that the Lord tested them whether they qualified to possess their inheritance or not. The Lord was ready to give them the land but the people disqualified themselves.

(Picture: Kadesh-barnea. The most prominent mountain in the upper left is said to be Jebel-Harun, the mountain where Aaron was buried.)

Whether you qualify to enter into your “promised land” - fullness of blessings, answered prayers, maturity in Christ or revival - depends on whether or not you overcome your own “Kadesh-barnea.”

A miner applies an acid test to determine if the gold in question is the real deal. A small amount of hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid is dropped to the metal. If it dissolves in the presence of the acid, it is pyrite - a fool’s gold. Real gold does not dissolve. Today, we use the term “acid test” as a verifier of truth or reality.

In order to understand what Kadesh-barnea stands for, it may be helpful for us to understand its Hebrew meaning. Strong’s concordance defines Kadesh-barnea as “wilderness of wandering.” If we dig further and get to the root words, it tells us an interesting insight.

Kadesh = a (quasi) sacred person, can also mean dedicated. (It’s so close to the word Kodesh which means holy, dedicated)

Barnea comes from two root words: Bar and Nuwa

Bar = grain (or figuratively people or a field)

Nuwa = to waver or wander

Putting them together, Kadesh-barnea may mean “(quasi) holy people who waver or wander.” So there you go.  In Kadesh-barnea, they ‘wavered’ in their faith and decided to go back to Egypt. They refused to go in. They wavered because they were dedicated to the wrong things. Publicly they appeared holy to the Lord but in secret they were worshipping other gods. Their hearts were divided.

Amos 5:25-26 states, “Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, Israel? No, you served your pagan gods - Sakkuth your king god and Kaiwan your star god - the images you made for yourselves.” (NLT)

(This picture is a northeastern view of Kadesh-barnea - the borderland to their inheritance. During rainy season, the wadi becomes a well-watered and fruitful spot. This is most likely the place where Moses sent out the 12 spies. They went in circles here for thirty-eight years. Miriam died and was buried here. Korah’s rebellion, the murmuring of the whole camp and the budding of Aaron’s rod happened here. Aaron died near here. And it was here where Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it. Miriam, Aaron and Moses did not make it to the other side.)

Why does God bring us to wilderness experiences? There are two principles we need to understand:

A. God tests before He invests. 

This was a preaching point I heard sometime ago that still rings true today. We go through our wilderness experience in order to test us. But the test is not for God to know our hearts. It is for us to know the real condition of our hearts. These tests prove how frail we are. When we realize it, we would humble ourselves and walk in true dependence to God’s grace.

Deuteronomy 8:2 says,

“You are to remember everything of the way in which Adonai [the LORD] led you these forty years int he desert, humbling you and testing you in order to know what was in your heart - whether you would obey his [commandments] or not.”

It was the Lord who led them in all their travels in the desert especially those places of great need. God intentionally brought them there to show them their true state: frail and desperately in need of God. 

For instance, it was the Lord who led them to the bitter waters. (Exodus 15:22-27) They grumbled instead of trusting in the Lord. They missed the joy of receiving their miracle. When the waters turned sweet by God’s power, we don’t hear a single thanksgiving!

 It is during times of great difficulties that our true selves are exposed. We may think we are already Christlike until we are subjected to great pressure, severe testings and stress. When fire is directed to the gold, its impurities comes out. Yet at the same time, the fiery process actually purifies the gold. So, take heart when you are going through tough times. God is investing on you.

Since they came out of the Red Sea, the Lord was discipling them through Moses as they traveled along. Two years of “discipleship” yielded no fruit. God expected at least a blip in radar screen of faith but they did absolutely zilch. They were subjected to ten tests but they failed in each one of them.

Deuteronomy 1:12 summarizes their general attitude in the desert: “But you are burdensome, bothersome and quarrelsome! How can I bear it myself alone?” (CJB)

When they approached Kadesh-barnea, the border to the promised land, they were not just ready to enter in.

B. When God gives a promise, things turn for the worse before they become better.

This principle is repeated again and again throughout scripture. Here’s a few examples: God promises super-blessings to Abraham and his descendants. Abraham leaves all his relatives to pursue God’s dream. Arriving in the land, God says, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And then famine hits the land. (Genesis 12) He was 75 years old, he obtains his promised son after 25 years. Abraham becomes a friend of God.

Isaac receives the promises of Abraham, blessings in his generation and to his descendants. He marries the most beautiful woman but she’s barren. He had to plead with God for a baby. He got married when he was forty, he had children at sixty. Again, severe famine. The land supposed to be blessed experienced lack. The Lord tells him to stay. Isaac planted and in the same year and reaped a hundredfold harvest! (Genesis 26) God blessed him abundantly in time of famine.

Jacob was given the same promise given to Abraham and Isaac but again, famine! Jacob and his whole family ended up in Egypt. Here, however, he lives a prosperous life. Joseph, his son, receives a dream of greatness, then goes through terrible testings before he became second in command to Pharaoh.

David was anointed king of Israel in his teens. He suffered and persevered for about 25 years before ascending to the throne.

Jesus was no exception. Hebrews 5:8 says, “Even though He was a Son, he learned obedience through his sufferings.” Obedience has its price, Jesus paid it in full. Before the glory of resurrection, there was death on the cross. Shall we be exempted?

When your situation downturns right after the Lord promises you good things, know for certain that you are under a test. The Lord brought you there to strengthen your heart until your faith becomes unshakable.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (James 1:2-4, NLT)

The Lord tested the Israelites for two years but it was the Israelites who tested the Lord instead! When the Lord brought them to a tight spot, they quarreled against Moses, complained instead of maintaining a trusting attitude,  arrogantly demanded their "rights", and "troubled" the Lord.

If you are in a test right now, know for certain that God wants you to overcome. If you are under fire, the Lord is purifying you. He does not give a test to disqualify anyone, the Lord tests because He wants to qualify you. The Lord is rooting for you.

When your situation is turning for the worse, know that it is just temporary. When you pass your test, your situation will definitely turn for good. 

The wilderness journey of the Israelites warn us against disqualifying ourselves in receiving His fullness of blessings. Always remember that with every difficulty, God gives a corresponding grace to overcome (Romans 5:20).

(continuation of Ten hindrances to your fullness of blessings tomorrow)