Thanksgiving to God for the Wilderness
VBC Albuquerque · Sep 7, 2024
The sermon explains the meaning of the wilderness in the believer's life, both literally as difficult circumstances and symbolically as spiritual trials. The wilderness is God's arrangement to teach, transform, and train His people, making them trust in God rather than themselves.
The first section presents the sermon's main theme with two understandings of the term "wilderness." Literally, the wilderness is a harsh land with no drinking water, full of venomous snakes and scorpions, a place where humans cannot live. Symbolically, the wilderness represents circumstances that we cannot resolve ourselves—difficulties, calamities, losses, suffering in life, loneliness, and abandonment. These circumstances force us to rely completely on God rather than on our own abilities, strength, and talents.
The second section develops the theological argument that everyone must go through wilderness experiences in their lifetime. The pastor explains that God Himself commanded Moses to lead His people into the wilderness to worship Him, with the purpose of teaching them that they do not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. The wilderness makes people realize their limitations in solving problems and often helplessness, leaving no choice but to cry out to God. Scripture teaches that God does not seek or choose His people from places of wealth and power, but from places where people rarely look.
The third section applies the message to the congregation's real life by explaining why God uses the wilderness in the critical stages of important biblical figures. Moses went through 40 years of shepherding sheep in the wilderness to be transformed from a proud Egyptian prince into a humble leader. David became completely trusting in God's protection through years of fleeing for his life. The apostle Paul also went through three years in the Arabian wilderness before being used for great work. Those who have passed through the wilderness can truly empathize with, comfort, and help others, because they have understood life's difficulties.
The fourth section continues with the example of Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who endured years of imprisonment in forced labor camps in Siberia. Even in the worst conditions, he experienced profound spiritual transformation, recognizing that the line between good and evil passes through every human heart. The pastor concludes that the wilderness can make people stronger and more mature, or it can make them bitter and resentful. The difference lies in what one brings into the wilderness—if one brings faith in God, they will bear beautiful fruit; if they rely only on themselves, they will become withered and hardened.
The final section concludes that in the wilderness, we have only one hope, which is in God. The wilderness is a consequence of sin, but God has promised to transform the barren desert into a place where fruit trees bloom. Until that day, God will continue to use the wilderness to humble and test us, so we might trust in God and bear fruit even in the wilderness. The pastor encourages the congregation to learn from biblical figures that life's primary purpose is not wealth but to know God, have a relationship with Him, and mature in spiritual life.