Living In Hope: Deuteronomy 32:10-13

                                                               God's Glorious Desert Promises

Deuteronomy 32:10-13 He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, and instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirs up her nest, flutters over her young, spreads abroad her wings, taketh them, bears them up on her wings, so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange gods with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of his fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.

When we read the bible we see clearly that if the wilderness is anything, it is a place of wonderful transformation. Our lives are gloriously transformed in wilderness places. 

However, wilderness places frighten us. Wilderness places can speak of trial and hardships. They can speak of seasons of feeling lonely and isolated. Yet, God in His faithfulness gives us assuring promises in those seasons where His wisdom leads us into wilderness places.

Here are 7 personal promises from the Lord when He leads us through desert places. 

1 Vs. 10 "God leads us" In my nearly 30 years of walking with the Lord, I have found that in desert   

    places we can feel "so lost." There are times you know that you are in God's will, yet, you feel so lost      in His will. Where am I at?! Why am I here?! What am I supposed to be doing?! I feel so lost! 

   The good new is , we may feel lost, but God is never lost. He knows right where we are at, and every         moment we spend in the wilderness, He is leading our life. When in the wilderness, our comfort is in     knowing, I am not lost, I am led. 

2 Vs. 10 "God instructs us" If there is one promise the wilderness guarantees, it is wisdom. 

   In other words, when we are in the wilderness and have no earthly resources to fall back on, the only     thing we can do is trust and obey. It is then we begin to learn how God chooses to work His will.   

   The desert places are always a classroom. They always have something to teach us about God's 

   wisdom and how He chooses to work in and through our lives. 

3 Vs. 10 "God keeps us" There is not a more vulnerable, unprotected, defenseless place in all the world 

   than the wilderness. In the wilderness you are open game for scorpions, snakes, mountain lions and 

   wild dogs. Yet, God says "In desert places you are surrounded by my protection and nothing will 

   harm you. I am your shield and refuge, and when you have no defense, I am your defense."

4 Vs. 11 "God carries us" There are so many times in wilderness places where our strength will fail, but 

   the Lord promises to carry us in His strength. But He doesn't just carry us in His strength; the 

   wilderness places is the place where we learn to quit striving in our strength and learn to be carried 

   by His grace. This is something only the wilderness can achieve in our lives. 

5 Vs. 12 "God glorifies Himself to us" Vs. 12 says, "no foreign god was with him." The indication is 

   "In the wilderness there were no foreign gods to receive glory." There was a clear knowing in the 

   heart, "Only the one true God could have done this. To Him belongs all the glory." 

6 Vs. 13 "God empowers us" When the bible says "he makes them to ride on high places," this speaks 

   of conquest. It is in the wilderness places where we learn to quit fighting in our own human strength, 

   and begin conquering in divine strength. David said, "Blessed be the Lord my strength, who has 

   taught my hands to war and my fingers to fight." It was in the wilderness places where David learned 

   how to trade His weakness for God's strength. It was in the desert places where David learned how to 

   swing his sword and pull back his bow, no longer in man's strength, but in the power of the Lord. 

7 Vs. 12 "God supernaturally provides for us" When the bible speaks of "sucking honey from the  

   rock,"  it means it is in the desert places where we learn how to lay ahold of supernatural provision. 

   It is in the desert places where we no longer depend upon limited human resources, but we learn how 

   to tap into the supernatural resources God avails to us. 

Brothers and sisters, I hope you are encouraged. The wilderness is such a vital part of our spiritual journey with God and we will be there frequently. But take courage, what God achieves in our life in desert places is priceless. The desert may seem frightening, but we are hedged about by the glorious promises of God. When we come out on the other side, we always comes out with deeper intimacy with God, a greater joy in the Lord, wisdom this world does not possess, and a life gloriously transformed.