Why we go through desert seasons

Deuteronomy 8:2 …God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee and to prove thee…
Jeff Caliguire said very true and profound statements about life in deserts. He said, “Deserts, figuratively or literally, present special challenges to those of us who like to control our environment and keep things comfortable. Deserts are not for fun, convenience, or pleasure. Simple survival tactics work; stamina is tested. Deserts are dry, dusty, brittle, and barren – endless and devastatingly lonely. Surroundings are often hostile, even dangerous. It takes great exertion to accomplish anything.”

It appears that God favours using desert seasons in disciplining and training His children. He knows that desert experiences do not only toughen us but they also reduce us to simplicity, humility, obedience and total reliance upon God, the only source of total supply. Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.”

The three million children of Israel were led by God through the wilderness for forty years. Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh into the desert where he tended sheep for forty years. Prophet Elijah came out of some desert into public ministry. After His baptism, Jesus Christ was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil for forty days and forty nights.

Soon after his conversion and call into ministry Paul went into the Arabian desert and spent about three years alone with God.  God leads us through desert seasons to test us. We like to be in control of ourselves, our business, ministry and everything else. But when we go through hard times we realise we are not in control and we are forced to rely hundred percent on God.

Total reliance upon God is one of the blessings we enjoy when we experience desert seasons. Success and abundance are good to have but they have a tendency to make us too comfortable to care about God and others. So God often stirs up our nests to cause us to desire Him and to lose interest in the things of this world. It is written in 1 John 2:15-16, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

Desert seasons teach us to value and appreciate other people. When everything is going on smoothly we tend to look down upon people and to be less grateful for the help we get from others. But let disaster strike us, we immediately begin to appreciate every little thing someone does to us. The sins of the pride of life, lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes are harder to overcome in times of success than in hard times. Desert experiences discipline and train us to be Christ-like.

Have you faced a desert experience in your life? If that experience has striped you of pride and caused you to lean hard on God, then it was good that you went through it. As you allow your desert seasons to shape you, you will unlock and discover a new ability to bear lasting fruit and then like Paul, you will develop the ability to endure the ups and downs of life with confidence and hope.

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