This past Sunday, Will Klotz of Vanderbloemen joined us and preached from Psalm 78:1-20 with an encouraging, timely message for our congregation on God’s purpose for drawing us into wilderness seasons. Ultimately, it is to draw us nearer to Himself.
KEY POINTS:
- The wilderness of God’s people is a place in between. It’s temporary. It’s not meant to be permanent.
- The wilderness reveals the reality of our hearts. It exposes:
- where our trust is
- the things we look to for comfort and peace
- The wilderness is not just an experience for Old Testament Israel. This uncomfortable place, this place in between, is a normal experience that we walk through as God’s people. Really, our entire Christian life on this side of eternity can be characterized as the wilderness
- Being in the wilderness does not mean that God has abandoned you. In fact, it’s the place where he’s doing some of the deepest work in our lives. The Lord draws us into the wilderness so that He might draw us to Himself
- Jesus Himself was even brought into the wilderness, where He was also met with, but did not succumb to, temptation (Matthew 4:3-5)
- Practically speaking, in wilderness seasons, we are to feast on the Word and seek Him in prayer. We are to encounter the precious treasure of His presence in a way that we never would without the season of the wilderness surrounded by all the comforts that we look to in our lives.
- YES, God can and will spread a table in the wilderness. It’s a table that will satisfy your soul unlike anything else.
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
- Exodus 19:4
- God set the Israelites free so that He might bring them to Himself
- Hosea 2:14-15
- Isaiah 55
- God paints a picture of what awaits on the other end of the wilderness
COMMUNITY GROUP DISCUSSION:
- When you are in a wilderness season, a season of angst where your needs aren’t immediately being met, what are the things that you turn to find comfort and peace? Confess these counterfeit comforts with one another while acknowledging that God is the only source that can truly satisfy.
- What has your wilderness season, or the wilderness season at Icon, revealed about your confidence and trust in the Lord?
- What does it look like for us to pull up a chair and fellowship with a God who spreads a table in wilderness settings? It’s why He brought us into the wilderness in the first place. Prayerfully commit to encountering the fullness of His presence in all that He has for you in this season.