“Nearly 3, 500 years ago, the Lord delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. They were to take possession of the land God had promised their forefathers, a land “flowing with milk and honey.” Yet, their lack of belief in God’s word and promises caused them to wander for forty years through the wilderness until the unbelieving generation died off.

“When you look at your life’s journey, you can identify the many episodes of your own wandering through the wilderness—those apparently brutal times when you were forced to take leaps of faith out of the comfort zone of your complacency. If you want to learn to ride a bike, won’t you have to eventually remove its training wheels?

“Would it have served the Israelites’ highest good to remain in slavery in Egypt? Slavery is not conducive to co-creativity, as the servant is only allowed to function within the guidelines set up by the master, thus forever remaining subservient.

“Many of you chose to linger in their comfort zones, shying away from risk-taking. Yet, they deprive themselves of life-changing opportunities and their growth, if any, only occurs in slow-motion. You are meant for greatness. Yet, in order to get manifested, your greatness has to be activated by out-of-the-ordinary life’s circumstances. They are generally perceived as great setbacks that seem to make your world crumble. This is an erroneous perception. Such challenges are meant for your spiritual renewal.

“What could have been a short exodus for the Israelites turned out to be a forty-year period of wandering through the harsh desert. Their subsistence was the daily manna provided from Above. In itself, it should have been sufficient for them to trust in the Lord. Yet, they complained, regretting to have left their very ‘uncomfortable’ comfort zone.

“Many of you have experienced ‘losing it all’—the type of bankruptcy depicted in the story of Job who lost his wealth, his health, and his loved ones. This is your very personal wilderness course when you have to let go of your bearings to bravely move forward to a yet unknown spiritual destination—your very own Promised Land. With hindsight, you will come to realize that these extreme conditions contributed to ‘break’ whatever was unyielding within you and give room for your inner expansion—thus setting the stage for your very own ‘extreme makeover’.

“Whenever you go through tough times, practice gratitude. Ask the Father which one of His eternal promises He is about to fulfill in your life. Endure and persevere. The Father abundantly blesses those whose loyalty has been tested over and over. They are His beloved children in whom He takes great pride. Do not overlook the fact that He is feeding your soul with the daily spiritual Manna needed for its eternal survival.”