God's Glory Church

“The Lord … knows … your course in this great desert.” — Deuteronomy 2:7
At the beginning of my Christian life, I thought that meetings with Jesus took place “on mountain tops.” However, these experiences were rarely lasting and often did not lead to any growth. Writer Lina Abu-Jamra says that it is in the desert that we meet God and that is where we grow. In her Bible study Through the Wilderness, she writes, “God’s purpose is to use the wilderness places in our lives to make us stronger.” She continues, “God’s goodness is meant to be received in the midst of your pain, not to be confirmed by the absence of pain.”

It is in difficult moments of sorrow, loss and pain that God helps us grow in faith and become closer to Him. Lina realized that “the desert is not a mistake in God’s plan, but an integral part of the process of our growth.”

God led many Old Testament patriarchs into the wilderness. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had experience in the desert. It was in the desert that God prepared the heart of Moses and called him to lead His people out of slavery (Ex. 3:1-2, 9-10). And it was in the desert that God oversaw the path of the Israelites for forty years, providing His help and guidance (Deuteronomy 2:7).

God was with Moses and the Israelites every step of their journey through the wilderness, and He is with us on our journey as well. In the wilderness, we learn to rely on God. There He meets us and there we grow.

When did God meet you in a desert place? What result did this lead to?
Dear God, thank you for being with me in the harsh desert trials. You are faithful and merciful.
By Alison Kieda