"Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke,

perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?" (Song of Solomon 3:6)

"Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?"

(Song of Solomon 8:5a)

My Precious Child,

t is in the wilderness that I will seek to add a new dimension to you. I will broaden your Christian experience. I will deepen your relationship with Me and transform you into My image. To put it another way, Hosea 2:14 says: "Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly unto her." At this place I will separate you for Myself, and make you ready for your destiny. I will give you a deep longing for Me so that you seek My presence with all that is in you, in response to My great love. And beyond the wilderness you will find a special place of blessing, where you will be glad and rejoice that you have been there. For a time you may weep in the wilderness, but I will comfort you and give you a new and joyful song.

 The wilderness is My perfume shop where the perfume of My presence will saturate you as you take upon yourself my life and character, becoming ever more like Me in character and desires. My perfume is not an outer adornment, but an inner fragrance that identifies with Me. It's the perfume of My presence that is found only in one place—the place of intimacy with Me.

 When the time in that place has ended I, your bridegroom. will bring out you, My bride, and present you to the world, beautiful, radiant and scented with the fragrance of My love. At that point, we will be inseparable, because you will lean on and depend on Me for your very breath, your very being. And even if the whole lot comes against us, nothing will separate us from one another. In fact, I will say to you, "Come away with Me. Lean on Me, and we will go out to the wilderness together." In the end, you will be the envy of your friends (the daughters of Jerusalem) who will smell the sweet fragrance and want what you have.

 If you draw near to Me, and refuse to stray, I will bless and exalt you. I will give you an ever-increasing revelation of Myself. I will come for you, and offer you My arm for support, along with My endless strength and endurance, and bring you out smelling incredibly beautiful, like Me, and your beauty will be the envy of everyone who sees you. It is in this place that a new thing, a brand new dimension, will be added unto you, and you and I will be as one...

 "But for many of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness."

 (1 Corinthians 10:5)

 know that, at times, you feel as if you’ve just come out of one trial when you face another one. This is how the children of Israel felt when they journeyed out of the wilderness of Sinai and into the wilderness of Paran.

'So the Israelites set out from the wilderness of Sinai and traveled on from place to place until the cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran.' (Numbers 10:12)

Notice that I led them by a cloud that hovered over them, filled with My glorious manifest presence.

I can hear you saying that you don’t understand why I would lead you right from one test into another.  You may feel that loss of direction or not know what to do. Many times you inquire of others, asking them why, but I am the only source of answers for you.
in 2 Corinthians 11:26 Paul said this about the wilderness experience:

He faced what seemed like continual defeat, yet I was at work, leading him through each trial. He was not defeated in the wilderness, but, in fact, was made stronger and chose to run his race to the very end. He kept pursuing the goal to win the high calling of knowing Me intimately.

An emotional high will not see you through such times of testing; only rock solid faith firmly anchored in Me will see you through. Let your heart and mind be firmly fixed on my Word, so that its roots go deep and your confidence doesn’t fail in times of testing. Do not lose hope; put your faith in Me and I will also lead you through to victory. I want you to know Me so well that you don’t give in to unbelief and confusion.

'So I was angry with them, and I said, “Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.” So in my anger I took an oath: “They will never enter my place of rest.” Be careful then, dear brothers and sister. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.' (Hebrews 3:10-12)

There will be times when you don’t understand My ways and you will also be tempted to walk away in fear. Stand fast and place your trust in Me and discover my divine rest. Your enemy would love to discourage you and cause you to walk away from Me, so you miss your divine purpose. In the end, though, the wilderness is dangerous, it is the place where you learn to trust Me as never before, and where you begin to look just like Me. 

No matter how dead or dry you feel, or how far I seem to be from you, My presence is always there. I will be your strong tower and My presence will go with you, if you feel it or not, as I lead you to your promised land. And once you can trust Me, and let nothing rock your boat, I will lead you from glory to glory. 

Steve Porter

www.findrefuge.tv