Are you passing tests or periods of agony? You have been looking for a job for a long time, or with financial or family problems. This Bible study will help you understand what God’s dealings are like in those testing periods or time in the wilderness.
Many people read the passages of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt and their walk through the desert as a story of what happened without delving into the biblical teaching and message that God has prepared for each of us.
The desert in the Bible is related to the time of trial and preparation that God makes with all Christians. If God did it with his people in those times, will he not also do it with you? Those periods, which sometimes sometimes even years, are moments of rich experiential teachings that prepare us in the depths of our being to carry out the conquest of new fronts for God.
“Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:2-3
These verses are very profound and teach us important truths about the school of the Holy Spirit. Specifically, it explains the reason for the tests and God’s purpose in taking them to the Desert, that is, to put us in the desert for a long time.
Before we knew God the circumstances and problems of life defeated us, crushed us without mercy, and we saw no clear purpose behind the problems we were experiencing, except our destruction.
In the book of Romans 8:28 the Bible tells us:
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
Sometimes we misinterpret this verse if we think that everything will work out for us according to our purpose or our path, but here the Word tells us that everything will work out for us according to the purpose that God has with us, and the path He has planned for each of your children.
When we are in trial periods we cannot understand why, but we must keep in mind the words of Isaiah:
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55: 9
It is true, the ways and thoughts of God sometimes we do not understand. God’s purpose for our lives is made clear in the verse from Romans 8:29:
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.”
God promises those of us who love him that in every circumstance we have to live he will be glorified by imprinting his image, his character, his holiness on us and extending his kingdom.
Our plans with our projects may fail but keep in mind that God’s plans never. He has a purpose with each one of us, and He will accomplish his purpose so that we may be saved.
“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1: 6.
In the wilderness of trial, God deals with our character, and these are difficult times of great brokenness for us. God has the objective that the precious perfume of the spirit be released from our interior. The Lord can deal with us in different ways, for example with loss of employment and long periods without work, difficulties with children, problems in studies, illnesses, etc. Let us be clear that with Jesus Christ we are victorious and that is why the Word tells us:
“Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments.” Deuteronomy 8: 2
In my personal case I have had times in my life that I considered myself a failure or useless and I had a lot of self-pity. Those were such hard times that I would rather not remember them. For example, on one occasion I was looking for a job for 2 years without being able to work at anything, my frustration being so much that all I did was pray, fast and cry out to God for a job. Another season I had to work in a company that was in another part of the city and it took me 2 hours to get there, to top it off they didn’t pay me a third of what was fair and on top of that with delays.
However, during the months that I was in that company in the 2 hours I had on the bus, all I did was read the Bible both on the way to and from the bus, and I was so steeped in the word of God that I preached at people from the company and on the bus. What beautiful times in the Spirit!
In conclusion, over the years God has made me see the value of those moments and I remember them as God’s lessons for my life.
“And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children— My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; —so that we may partake of his holiness” Hebrews 12: 5
“Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12: 11
If we did not have proof in our life we would stagnate in the faith and we would not grow spiritually. Let’s read the following verses and reflect on them:
“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure,” 2 Corinthians 4:17
“but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power[a] is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
“My brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy,…” James 1: 2
“Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
Therefore, trials are therefore a means to a glorious end, so we should gladly rejoice in the victories to come. Trials allow us to reach a new revelation about God and ourselves.
GOD DRIES THE STREAM
Men of God like the prophet Elijah had their preparation time. In 1 Kings 17 he shows us with God he took Elijah to a stream in the middle of a great drought and there he sustained him. Everything was wonderful until suddenly the stream dried up. If the stream had not dried up Elijah probably would not have moved from that comfortable place but God had a greater purpose for him, then God dried up the stream so that he would not stop there.
The stream can illustrate life circumstances like work, a business, our health or any other circumstance that makes a test for us.
Many times God dries up the stream causing the circumstances around us to become adverse. It is very easy to give glory to God when everything is going well. The important thing is to keep the faith when we are humanly bewildered and ask what God wants to teach us with the test.
WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR HEART?
In the desert (while we are in trials and problems) what is in our hearts is revealed. The Lord says in Deuteronomy 8: 2 “… to know what was in your heart…” One wonders if God needs to know what is in our hearts, and that is why perhaps we ask ourselves this question: does God need to put us to the test in order to truly know what we are like? The answer is that He knows perfectly what our heart is like. We ourselves are the ones who need to know what is in our hearts and how we are. So through trials we become aware by the Holy Spirit of what is in our hearts. We really need to know it and then confess it before God. It is very easy for us to have a concept of ourselves that does not coincide with reality, our heart is deceitful and God unmasks it through tests. We believe that we have love until we are offended, we believe that we have humility until they send us to do a humiliating task that we do not want to do. The tests help us to know what is really in our hearts and thus grow in holiness.
Deserts are inhospitable places where the most basic of subsistence is lacking. It is necessary that God test our faith there and thus lead us to cry out before him so that we know his supernatural and daily provision, just as he did with the Israelites feeding them with manna every day.
However, in these times of trial it is important to meditate on the trade-off between the material and the spiritual (which the Word designates with “what comes out of the mouth of Jehovah.” Yes, while we are in the desert we strive for solve our problems and run from here to there, we look for third parties to solve everything for us, instead of looking for the face of God we will be putting the cart before the oxen.The desert is a beautiful opportunity to meet God and receive his word. It is God calling us to Himself, to speak to us.
“Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.” Hosea 2:14
CONCLUSION
God makes us hungry (to divest ourselves of the material) in order to satiate ourselves with his Holy Spirit (bless us with the spiritual) and shower us with favors and mercies.
When we are in these testing seasons pray and groan before God. Look for the true bread that came down from heaven, look for Jesus Christ, ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit because that is the true need and not material things.
Thanks to the reading of the Bible and my opening to know the Lord, the Holy Spirit worked in me and I converted to Christ. If you want to learn more, keep reading the Bible studies, and when you want to pray a prayer to give your life to Christ, visit our GIVE YOUR LIFE TO CHRIST page.
FINAL NOTE
This Bible study was based on some chapters of the book: “Holy Spirit, I am hungry for you” by Pastor Claudio Freidzon, Editoria Thomas Nelson Inc, 2005
