LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
In the Wilderness
"But behold, I will draw her and bring her into the wilderness, and speak of her to her heart" (Hosea 2:14).
The experiences on the mount of transfiguration are precious, because in them we see the glory of the Lord. They encourage us to continue when our forces decline, and show us the future glory that is to be manifested in us.
However, there are also experiences in the desert. In them there is no glory, but darkness; there is no joy, but grief; there is no clarity of thought, but confusion. As someone has said, there in the desert, without shelter, the four winds beat hard on the believer, leaving him discouraged. It is impossible to stand.
What is the raison d'être of these experiences? Why are they necessary? Is it that God is excessively severe with us by allowing us to experience such things? Experiences in the desert are essential in the walk of the Christian. In the desert we have no one but God; there is no food, but the word of God; there are no human resources to rely on. Our greatness disappears; everything that is vain, ceases to be. There we are alone, God and us.
There is such presumption in man, despite his smallness; there is such vanity, despite the fact that it is nothing; that it can only be delivered through desert experiences. There all hope is lost; every source is shown to be insufficient; all greenery disappears. How many tears, how much anguish and how much despair then!
All vain dreams of grandeur vanish, all self-righteousness is shattered; human pretensions turn to dust. The foolishness of man is swept away, and in its place is a pleasant taste of good sense and purity. Those sins that the believer could never leave; that hardness of heart that always followed him; all of it will be swept away. In the desert, God's plow penetrates deep into the heart, to make the land good.
Through the prophet Hosea, the Lord speaks to the heart of Israel, telling them what will happen after the desert: "And I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; and there she will sing as in the times of his youth... I will take the names of the Baals out of his mouth... I will make you sleep safe... I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, judgment, kindness, and mercy. And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord" (2:15-20).
The blessing that the desert will leave behind is of such magnitude that the soul can now be comforted. It is the same anticipated consolation that the Lord experienced before the cross. "For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2).