Deut. 8:2 “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
Deut. 8:3 “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.
I have taught and written about these verses so many times over the years, yet I find they speak to me again, and again. They remind me that from time to time God will lead us into wilderness places, to bring us into new levels of humility, testing us, to see what is in our hearts. He only gives tests when He thinks we are ready for them. He wants to know where we truly are in our quest to love Him with all of our hearts. He wants to see, prove, what is really in our hearts. Will we, in love, adore Him, and keep His commandments there, where there are no feelings. What is in our hearts? Do we love Him, or do we love how He makes us feel. Do we love His blessings, or do we love Him. Is it His HAND we are after, or is it His FACE and His HEART. The gift of the wilderness provides the opportunity of the true testimony of our hearts to be revealed. How much have we grown in our love for HIM. It’s in the howling wilderness that we find out. May God find us, in the howling wilderness, where there are no happy feelings, adoring Him, loving Him, living by His words, keeping His words. I’m so grateful for the wilderness. I’m so thankful that He feels I’m ready for my love to be tested. I’m so humbled for those opportunities to show Him how much I’ve grown I’m my love for Him.