By Andrew Williams
Series: The Year of the Prophet- Month 3: The School of the Wilderness (Preparation)
Week 10: The Purpose of Hiddenness (The “Cherith” Phase)
Anchor Scripture: “But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian… Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert…” — Exodus 2:15; 3:1 (NKJV)
The Teaching
One of the most sobering lessons in the School of the Wilderness is the Time Ratio of the Kingdom. We live in a world of instant gratification and “overnight” successes. But in the life of a prophet, God uses a different clock. Consider Moses: he spent forty years in the palaces of Egypt learning how to be a “somebody,” but he had to spend another forty years in the desert of Midian learning how to be a “nobody.”
Moses was eighty years old when he finally stood before the burning bush. To the human mind, forty years in Midian tending someone else’s sheep looks like a colossal waste of time. He was a man of high education, royal training, and massive potential, yet he spent nearly half a century in total obscurity. Why? Because Egypt had taught Moses how to be a ruler, but Midian had to teach him how to be a shepherd.
The wilderness is where God deconstructs your “palace mindset.” In the palace, you lead by command and prestige; in the desert, you lead by patience and care. God will never give a prophet a public platform that is larger than the private character they developed during the “wait.” If it took forty years to prepare Moses for a forty-year assignment, do not be surprised if God takes “too long” with you. The length of the preparation is always in direct proportion to the weight of the mandate.
Prophetic Insight
The “Midian Season” is where God kills your “hurry.” If you are still in a rush to be seen, you aren’t ready to be sent. If you are frustrated by the “low-level” work you are doing—tending “sheep” that aren’t yours, working a job that feels beneath your calling, or being stuck in a quiet corner—remember that Moses was being trained to lead two million people while he was chasing one lost lamb. Every day of “monotony” in the wilderness is a day of “muscle-building” for the mantle. God is not wasting your time; He is seasoning your spirit. You cannot lead the “Flock of God” if you haven’t first been humbled by the “Flock of Jethro.”
The Activation
Take an inventory of the “ordinary” or “unseen” years of your life. Instead of viewing them as lost time, ask the Holy Spirit: “Lord, what ‘shepherding’ skills was I learning during those quiet years?” Identify one trait—patience, humility, or endurance—that you gained during a period of obscurity. Thank God for the “Midian” that kept you from the pride of the “Palace.”
Daily Prayer: Lord God, I thank You that You are the Master of Time. I repent for my impatience and my desire to rush out of the wilderness before my training is complete. I accept my ‘Midian’ today. I yield to the work of shepherding in the small places. Teach me what I need to know in the silence so that I am ready when the fire appears. I trust Your clock more than my own. Amen.
