Are you in the wilderness today; that place where all is barren and dry? Take heart. All the great men and women of God have had a wilderness experience. I often think of Spurgeon who battled depression throughout his life. I think of Amy Carmichael who spent the last twenty years of her life bedridden due to an accident. For both these servants of the Lord, the wilderness became the place of worship. Spurgeon said, “I would go into the deeps a hundred times to cheer a downcast spirit. It is good for me to have been afflicted, that I might know how to speak a word in season to one that is weary.” Most of Amy Carmichael’s books were written in those last twenty years of her life. If you are in a wilderness, remember these things:
The Lord is with you – God was with the people of Israel through their wilderness experience, guiding them by a pillar of fire at night and cloud by day (Deuteronomy 1:33). You are never alone in the wilderness. John Henry Jowett points out the great encouragement of the Lord’s presence in a trial: “The God of peace shall be with you. And that is everything. If the King is present at the table, a crust is a feast. If the Lord is on the battlefield, then amid all the surrounding turbulence there is a centre of peace. When the God of peace is in the life there is a chamber of which the sound of warfare never comes.”
The Lord will provide for you – Moses reminded the people with these words, “And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you again and again here in the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child” (Deuteronomy 1:32). You can trust God in the wilderness. Peter encourages us with these words: “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” Keep entrusting your soul to Him – He will watch over you every step of the way.
It is where we learn to walk by faith and come to that sweet place of surrender and reckless abandonment to the will of God. Sometimes it is only in the wilderness that we gain those qualities that make us a man or woman of God. Oswald Chambers says in My Utmost For His Highest that sometimes God withdraws all conscious blessings in order to teach us to walk by faith. John Henry Jowett points out the value of such trials and wildernesses: “If He purposes my perfection, then all my circumstances will be made to conspire to the accomplishment of His will…Sorrow can accomplish what comfort would always fail to do.” Sometimes it takes the tempest to bring out the music. Jowett goes on to say, “Have we not known men whose lives have not given out any entrancing music in the day of a calm prosperity, but who, when the tempest drove against them, have astonished their fellows by the power and strength of their music.”
You can worship in the wilderness – The people of Israel were tempted to murmur, complain, rebel, be discouraged and afraid (Deuteronomy 1:26-27). And the Lord heard their complaining (Deuteronomy 1:34). We learn from Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:5-6 what God thought about the complaints and rebellion: “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” Paul goes on to exhort us by saying we should not be idolaters, nor act immorally, nor try the Lord, nor grumble (1 Corinthians 10:7-11). We can learn from Israel’s mistakes in the wilderness and understand that there is a great temptation to do exactly as they did. Wilderness experiences are difficult, but they can also be places of worship. The secret is to turn to the Lord and look at Him in His Word instead of the giants in the land. When Moses “turned aside to look” at the burning bush, he heard the voice of the Lord, removed his shoes because he realized he was on holy ground, and he worshipped (Exodus 3). Over and over again, the people of Israel were told to “listen” and “obey” (see Deuteronomy 4). That is a great secret to making it through the wilderness – listen to what God says and live by what He says. The Word of God is like radar when there is a great fog and you are forced to travel “by instruments only” through the wilderness.
There is a promise in the wilderness – There is a promise for you no matter where you are today: “From there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him” (Deuteronomy 4:29). Always remember that it is not too late to draw near to God. He promises that if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him – what a great promise to think about today.
Remember you are precious to God, His special possession – The people of Israel were told this: “Remember that the LORD rescued you from the burning furnace of Egypt to become his own people and special possession; that is what you are today (Deuteronomy 4:20). Paul tells us in Colossians 3:13 that we are “chosen of God, holy and beloved.” In Ephesians 1:14 we see that we are “God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” Don’t ever forget how much God loves you; He loves you enough that He gave His only begotten Son and paid the price that you might receive forgiveness of sins, eternal life, a great inheritance (see Ephesians 1).
The wilderness experience doesn’t last forever – Even though it was 40 years because of the disobedience of the people of Israel, there was a time of entry and occupation in the Promised Land. Always remember that God has a plan and God has a purpose in your life and He is not worried about how He is going to bring His purposes to pass in your life. Think about these words spoken to His people years later during a time of captivity: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
How can your wilderness become a place of worship today? What promise of God can you look at today that will turn your gaze away from the giants in the land and back to the greatness and majesty of your God? May God continue to bless you on this journey through His Word. There is much for us yet to learn – it is truly the great adventure of knowing God!