Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness [or desert] these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. Deuteronomy 8:2
I have known deserts in my lifetime: my freshman year at Wheaton College; the first year of my first solo pastorate in Marshall, Minnesota; even different times here at Renton Bible Church. What is a desert? It’s a place where times of refreshing are few and far between, where there isn’t much fruit, and where joy is more difficult to come by. Deserts are humbling, difficult experiences. However, I thank God for deserts—for though they are often difficult to pass through, they are also responsible for the greatest amount of fruit in our lives. They teach us that we do not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD (Deut 8:3). They teach us not to forget that every blessing is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). And they teach us not to rely on the strength of our own hands, but to trust in the LORD’S unfailing love (Psalm 13:5). And it is often as we learn these lessons through the hard times that our lives become more fruitful. It reminds me of what Jesus said in John 15 that “every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (15:2). Jesus’ desire for His children is that we be more fruitful. This is why the Gardener prunes. Truth is…pruning is painful. The immediate result of pruning a flowering shrub is often a less beautiful shrub. But we prune shrubs and trees because we know that in the long run, they will be more fruitful. The same is true for us as followers of Christ. As we read in Hebrews 12:11, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” It has often been said, “God doesn’t waste our pain.” Sometimes our pain is a result of our disobedience. Other times it is simply the result of living in a fallen world. But no matter the cause, it is always God’s desire to use life’s difficulties to shape us into something more beautiful, more blessed, more fruitful for His Kingdom purposes. It is for this reason that James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2–4). Deserts, pruning, discipline, trials…no one looks for such things. However, the wise Christian learns not to react to such realities with bitterness, but to accept them for what they are—opportunities to be molded more into the image of Jesus Christ. As well, we must remember, as we walk through such times, that they are not a sign of God’s apathy toward us, but His love. As we read both in Proverbs 3:12 and Hebrews 12:6, “the Lord disciplines those he loves.” There is also great application here for Christ’s church. It is easy, when we are seeing greater fruit from our ministries, to despise those times when things were more lean. But the truth is…if it weren’t for the lean times where we learn greater trust in God, we wouldn’t have the fruitful times. It is the pruning, the discipline, the trials, that mature us and make us more fruitful for His Kingdom. I wonder if the people of Israel thought of their time in the wilderness as a waste of time. Certainly, they would be right to bemoan the unwillingness to trust in God that resulted in these years of wandering. And yet, you cannot help but see that the people needed this time in the desert. They needed to learn to trust in God. And is this not what Moses refers to in the verse above—“remember how the LORD your God led you all the way”? The desert wanderings provided a wonderful opportunity in that it forced God’s people to rely upon him, even for daily bread! As I look back upon more difficult years here at Renton Bible, I do so with gratitude—recognizing that it is because of the lessons learned in leaner seasons that we are enjoying the greater fruit today. Not only this, but such times serve as a powerful reminder. Just as Israel was prone to forget about God in times of blessing, it is also easy for us to become more complacent when things are going well. However, the reality is, we need God just as much in times of plenty as we do in times of want. May the difficulties of yesterday and the blessings of today move us to live in dependence upon the God who holds all our tomorrows in His hand! Pastor Dan
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
June 2022
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