From Wilderness To Worship

From Wilderness to Worship

[The LORD said,] “I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

IF YOU’VE LIVED THE LIFE OF FAITH for some time, you know by now that it isn’t just about getting what you need, want, or dream about. It is God’s means for partnering with his people to bring about his purposes in ways that satisfy their hearts. That certainly includes having our needs met, our God-given desires satisfied, and our Kingdom dreams fulfilled, but our faith doesn’t begin and end with us. It begins and ends with God, passing through us as an invitation into his will and ways. This invitation to faith was on his mind before it was on ours.

So when God wants to begin something new, he starts to make streams in the desert. He meets us in the wilderness to walk with us into places of greater abundance. Most of us go through times that look completely barren spiritually, relationally, emotionally, and in the practical details of our lives, but barrenness is no obstacle to God. He calls the barren to sing and celebrate the fruitfulness that is coming (Isaiah 54:1). He urges us to go ahead and worship in our times of wilderness because we know they will not last forever. He promises to turn our wilderness experiences into rich, lush, blossoming gardens of joy—in his time.

One of the greatest acts of faith we can express is to worship in those dry seasons. It’s easy to worship in times of abundance; even the immature can do that. But when God is stretching our muscles of faith and expanding our capacity to love and trust him, we rarely feel like worshiping. That’s when worship means the most. It is the ultimate expression of love and trust because it has no props to lean on. It simply takes God at his word and appreciates him for who he is. The purposes and promises of God flow freely from such hearts. Streams, even rivers, begin to flow in the most unlikely places. And our deserts look like deserts no more.

All our difficulties are only platforms for the manifestation of his grace, power, and love.