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You hear the Lord and you hear the Spirit of the Lord say, "Come away with Me... I'm calling you, I'm calling you to come deeper into the Judean wilderness to meet with Me." You cry out and say, "But Lord, already there has been so much wilderness, loneliness and abandonment!" As you look around, all you see is the hot Judean mountains, ragged cliffs towering over your head, and the vastness of the wasteland, like the large empty canvas of your soul... and still, the Spirit of the Lord keeps calling you, "Come, come away My Beloved. I'm leading you deeper into My truth and mysteries, for only I can fill the void inside of you.

The Cross, Ron DiCianni - available on our site!

Then you begin to say, "Yes, Lord," and you start to walk away from everyone you know, just like Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. You start to go deeper and deeper into the wilderness. Then you say, "I love You Lord, and even though I don't completely understand, I want You, Lord." As you look around, you see deer running on the high cliffs. You say, "Lord, how easily they seem to skip and jump on the heights, yet the heat is so hot. Lord, I feel like I'm going to faint," but you keep climbing up the steep cliffs. Often, you find yourself falling on your knees and crawling, and you say, "Lord, I don't think I can make it. It's so hard, and I'm so weak. Everything in my life seems to be stripped and the wilderness is so hot."

And then the Spirit of the Lord says, "Listen." As you start to listen, you hear the faint sound of water. It is like music to your ears in the midst of the desert. You stand up, and as you start to go down into the deep valley, you find a very small stream. You get down on your knees and you put your hands into a cup and take the water and pour it all over your head and face. "Lord, I am so tired. Can't I just camp here for a few days? Lord, can't I just sit by the small stream?" And yet the Lord keeps saying, "I'm calling you to come deeper into the wilderness. I am calling you to come further into the Judean desert to meet with Me!"

You Will Have Places of Refuge
So once again, you begin to climb higher and higher... and all around you, you see caves. The Lord says, "That's where I hid David and his men from Saul. I will give you similar places to hide in the midst of the desert." As you keep climbing and trudging up the narrow and steep deer trails, sweat is pouring from every part of you. You say, "Lord, my heart is melting. Lord, how much further?" Then you look up, and you can't believe it, but you see waterfalls in the distance! Your heart starts to leap like a deer with prancing feet. You say, "Lord, oh Lord, in the midst of the wilderness, there is so much life!" Like a deer, you start to run for the water. As you fall into the water and you start to look up to the cascading waterfalls, you see the waters passing furiously over hundreds of feet of moss-covered rocks into rainbows of mist hovering over the pools below.

You run, dive and become enmeshed in the rainbow mist, as you part the crest of the crystal-clear, cool waters proceeding from the throne of the Living God. An engulfment pours into your spirit and envelops every fiber of your being and you say, "Yes, Lord, fill me. Oh, Lord, fill me with Your flooding waters of life. Lord, take the weariness, pain and loneliness. Fill my vessel, Lord."

A Voice Like Rushing Water and Thunder
As you stand up in the pool of water and lean against the mossy rocks and ferns, the invigorating water falls upon your face. You begin to hear the thunder of the falls, the thunder of God's voice, resounding in your ears. He says, "My voice is like the thunderous waters which proceed from My throne. I am filling you to overflowing, My child, with My living water."

"Now lift up your heart and let Me give you a fresh filling of My Spirit and the fresh awakening for which your soul has so longed. For even when My Son, Jesus, was led by My Spirit into the wilderness and tested, He was also ministered to by My angels and refreshed. It was then that He began His ministry." You cry out to the Lord, "Lord, fill me." And the Lord responds, "My child, drink deep. Come away with Me."

The Lord picks you up, lowers you into the transparent healing pools of life and lets you soak in His refreshment. You start to feel His heart, and He says, "I will give you My heart and every season that I take you in, My living waters will fill you. Now drink in the refreshment of the Lord - drink in of My Heart." He says, "I will give you an oasis. In the midst of every trial, you will find Me, your God." He says, "Oh, how I love you." As you are lying in the pools of water, you look up at the sky. The sun is just setting, and the majesty of the stars are coming out like brillant diamonds against the cobalt blue night, as the harvest moon illuminates the cascading waterfalls and shimmering healing pools.

The Breath of God Brings Life
You stand up and reach out your hands to touch the heavens, the face of God. You cry out, "Oh, how majestic and awesome You are, my God and King - You who set the stars like a crown about Your head, and the earth as Your foot stool, and then breathed Your life into man... the breathings of God." Your soul and spirit cries out and you say, "Oh, my God, my King, I love You! I passionately love You!"

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I pray you have been deeply touched by this parable. May it become your cry to passionately love your King and encourage you to press on to find the pools of refreshment in the midst of every wilderness experience! Passionately for Him, Jill Austin