Jeremiah 31:1-3 – “At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.” Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
THEME OF THE DAY: TRIPS TO THE WILDERNESS. No Christian will be excepted. If we truly want to be used of the Lord and grow close to Him, we must be “spiritual hikers” and take trips into the deep dark place called “spiritual wilderness.” Moses did; God’s people of old did; David did; the Apostle Paul did; and our Lord Jesus did. Just like we must encounter personal Gethsemanes to fight the battle of our wills and surrender to God’s will, so must we go into wilderness experiences for the same type of spiritual growth.
The use of the term “wilderness” has wide applications in our Bibles. In the Old Testament, it was a place of death and danger (Deuteronomy 8:15). It was also a place God sent His people for their sin of rebellion and punishment (Exodus 14:11). And that wasn’t all. In the wilderness, temptation and evil occurred (Psalm 95:8-9). Moving into the New Testament, it was a set apart place for intense spiritual warfare as with our Lord and the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). The wilderness was also a place of much good. The Apostle Paul spent time in the Arabian wilderness for intimacy with the Lord and spiritual development (Galatians 1:17). And the great proclaimer of Jesus as the Lamb of God, John the Baptist, came as a “voice crying in the wilderness” (John 1:23).
For our purposes today, we define “wilderness” as seasons in life when God seems far away; trials so intense we fear complete failure, and spiritual enjoyments far and few between. Exactly the situation we found God’s people in today’s scripture. God is stating His provision for His people by delivering them from the “wilderness” of Babylonian exile. They were far from home. Fear and sorrow gripped them. Trials of faith abounded, but God would reassure them of three things from Him enabling them to endure, even prosper, while in the wilderness. They will apply to us also when in our own personal “spiritual wilderness.”
First, when we are tried, tired, and feel beaten down in the “wilderness of spiritual failure”, God’s grace will find us. His grace is not only saving grace, but forgiving grace, restoring grace, strengthening grace, and a grace that is never exhausted. We don’t need to stay deep in the dark “wilderness of spiritual failure” for grace is a sure guide leading us back into the light.
Next, when we are feeling alone and lost in “the wilderness of spiritual loneliness”, God’s everlasting love will satisfy our desire for companionship. The God of love never leaves His children. Oh, it may feel like it, but it isn’t true. We need times of feeling alone so that by faith we will know we are not alone. Look at the description of God’s love in today’s scripture; it is everlasting and that means, well, everlasting, never to stop or forsake us.
Finally, when we are experiencing the fiery darts of the devil in “the wilderness of doubt and unbelief”, God’s faithfulness will come to our rescue. Never forget it is not our faithful hold on the Lord that keeps us but His faithful hold, promise, and covenant which keeps us. We persevere not because we persevere, but because our God is a God of faithful perseverance. What He started in us – the good work of making us like Jesus – He will complete. His character of love and continued faithfulness ensures it.
Yes, friends, we are “spiritual hikers” who will take frequent trips into spiritual wildernesses. Yes, they are painful, but necessary, because of the good work gained from such trips both in our growth in the Lord and knowledge of Him.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to learn that trips into spiritual wildernesses are to be times of spiritual growth for me.”
QUOTE: “Every Christian must go into times of trial and testing to do the necessary work of soul-maturing.”