“Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness 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
But I’ve also discovered the desert of waiting can be a fruitful place. Our key verse shows us that God used the desert time to test His followers’ hearts. This wasn’t to be a time of empty suffering. It was a time to demonstrate trust and obedience.
When we look at it that way, the desert can be a place of personal growth. But, this only happens when I choose to trust that God will fulfill His promises in His perfect way and time. The fruit of that choice is patience, discipline, obedience, an increased alertness to God’s involvement in my life, and a deeper dependence upon Him.
God gave the Israelites their Promised Land through a miraculous conquering of the city. But between the promise and the Promised Land there was a desert – for them and us. And that desert is fertile ground. The decision we all have to make is whether we will grow in faith and character, or negativity.
Romans 4:20-21, “Yet he (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
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