Pt. 6, Wilderness Wanderings
![Wilderness Wanderings
Pt. 6, The Biblical Story, Wandering:
Numbers 10-14; 20-21; 25; 27; Deuteronomy 1-2; 4; 6; 8-9; 29-32; 34
By Pastor Dan Kennedy
© February 9, 2014
www.pastorkennedy.com
The Wilderness
When we think through the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites we can tend to make many “arm chair” evaluations about their journey. Did the Israelites see the Hand of God many times in their Exodus from Egypt and wanderings in the wilderness?
• Their miraculous deliverance from Egypt after the 10 devastating plagues that forced Pharaoh to set them free without any restrictions (Ex. 4-13).
• God’s provision of a Pillar of cloud by day and fire by night to guide the Children of Israel (Ex. 13:21-22).
• The profound deliverance from the pursuit of Pharaoh’s army when they passed through the Red Sea as on dry ground with a wall of water on either side. Then when Pharaoh’s army followed them into the depths with the intent to destroy Israel, they themselves were totally engulfed (Ex. 14).
• The healing of the bitter water at Marah (Ex. 15:22-26).
• God’s daily provision of heavenly bread (Manna) for the thousands upon thousands of Israelites, where there was not other possible provision of food (Ex. 16).
• The supernatural provision of “water from a Rock” when there was no other available water (Ex. 17).
• The defeat of strong and formidable enemies, by a nation of former slaves (Ex. 17:8 and following). God’s angel sent ahead to assure conquering and possession of the Land (Ex. 23:20-33).
• God’s gift to Israel, His People, of the Ten Commandments, with just, true and workable statues and ordinances for their nation (Ex. 20 and following).
• God’s confirmed Covenant with His People Israel (Ex. 24).
• God’s dwelling place provided with His People: A tent of meeting, the Ark of the Covenant and other spiritual furnishings, mirroring through earthly symbolism, heavenly reality (Ex. 24-31; 33:7-11; 37-40).
• Etc., Etc.
Why does God allow the adversity of “the wilderness” in His Children’s lives?
God knows how frail we are, how prideful we can be, and how prone we are to forget Him.
Moses reminded the Children of Israel of these critical things before they entered the Promised Land
Deuteronomy 8:2–9:6
8 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
What often happens when we have everything we need? We can forget God.
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
Not Because of Israel’s Righteousness
9 Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. 2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” 3 But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.
4 After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
It seems that God allows adversity in the lives of His Children for at least three possible reasons:
1. That each of God’s Children will reveal their faith in Him and experience His deliverance.
2. That the generations following would glorify God through hearing testimony of His deliverance and be strengthened in their own faith.
3. That each generation will be delivered from the horrible pit of pride and self-reliance.
The All-Consuming and Destructive Pride of our Deceitful Heart
Ezekiel 28 reveals to us the story of two powerful individuals. Verses 1-10 of the chapter summarize how a self-made man rises to enormous wealth and power, as he supposes, through his own wisdom and shrewed business and political dealings. He, as a mere man who became a powerful prince, even began to think of himself, in his pride, as being a god – there is reason for this, not only his proud heart, but also the powerful forces that surrounded and engulfed him, for their own deceitful pleasure.
Ezekiel 28:11-19 reveals the beginnings of he who was the “king” behind the forenamed “Prince of Tyre”. He was one of the most powerful and glorious of God’s creations… a super/arch-angel – an “anointed guardian cherub”, who disastrously fell because of pride, was cast down to the earth, and who, also gave special empowerment for earthly wisdom and riches, to the “prince” of Tyre.
Prophecy Against the Prince of Tyre
Ezekiel 28
28 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God:
“Because your heart is proud,
and you have said, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’
yet you are but a man, and no god,
though you make your heart like the heart of a god—
3 you are indeed wiser than Daniel;
no secret is hidden from you;
4 by your wisdom and your understanding
you have made wealth for yourself,
and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
5 by your great wisdom in your trade
you have increased your wealth,
and your heart has become proud in your wealth—
6 therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you make your heart
like the heart of a god,
7 therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you,
the most ruthless of the nations;
and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor.
8 They shall thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain
in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’
in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god,
in the hands of those who slay you?
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.”
A Lament over the King of Tyre
11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God:
“You were the signet of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created,
till unrighteousness was found in you.
16 In the abundance of your trade
you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.
18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
and shall be no more forever.”
These who were on the throne of the fortress of Tyre “had every benefit” of wealth and advantage, but in their pride they face disastrous ends. Nebuchadnezzar had the city under siege for 13 years but was unable to completely capture the island fortress. Alexander the Great built a causeway out to the island city and finally conquered the fortress and all of those who had fortified themselves there. It was laid waste and became a place for fishermen to spread out their nets (Ezek. 26:3-6).
Ezekiel 27:27, 36
27 Your riches, your wares, your merchandise,
your mariners and your pilots, your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise, and all your men of war who are in you,
with all your crew that is in your midst,
sink into the heart of the seas on the day of your fall….
36 The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;
you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.’ ”
Somehow, in God’s wisdom and knowledge of we created beings prone to pride, He has incorporated “wilderness wanderings” as a means to help us understand the frailty and weaknesses of who we really are as human beings.
The Israelites faced 40 years in the wilderness because of sins against their Holy God:
1. Distrust of God’s Protection: Being afraid that God would not protect them (even after God had delivered them from the tormenting slavery of Egypt) (Ex. 14:10-14; Ps. 106:7).
Psalm 106:7
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
2. Quarrelling about God’s Provision: Being embittered against God because He did not provide for them the way they had wanted Him to provide, even after God had given them – [600,000 men, not including women and children - Ex. 12:37-38] daily manna and water from the Rock, etc., (Ex. 16:31-17:7; Num. 11:4-9).
3. Denying God’s Power: Being willing to worship other gods (evidently believing these false gods had more power or were more desirable), whenever the opportunity presented itself as a more viable option, instead of worshiping God with all their heart and following His Laws (Ex. 32).
4. Unbelief in God’s Promises: Being unbelieving that God would give them victory in the land that He had Promised for them (Numbers 14:1-10).
Protection, Provision, Power and Promise – can God meet His Children’s needs? Faithlessness in these areas can be echoed throughout history in the lives of many Christians and many a Christian has found him or herself in somewhat of a wilderness to learn the same lessons as the Children of Israel.
The wilderness reveals the “rabble” in us and gives us opportunity to seek God…or quarrel with God:
Numbers 20:1–5
20 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.”
This quarrelling with Moses on God’s lack of provision became a reoccurring theme with those dissatisfied with God’s provision of manna, and with Moses’ leadership.
The Bronze Serpent
It is in the wilderness, near the end of their 40 years wandering that the illustration of faith as seen in the wilderness regarding the Bronze Serpent, that Jesus used with Nicodemus, in John 3, was played out.
John 3:14–15
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Numbers 21:4–9
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
God’s Use of the “Trials of the Wilderness” in the Life of the Believer
The Apostle Peter almost shouts to us (in his New Testament book) to not be surprised when we are faced with fiery trials – Peter lets us know that God is very aware, even during our deepest trials. He is not only aware, He is actively working through the trial…Eternity will Reveal that fact!
1 Peter 4
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you…. 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Wilderness Trials Force Us to Look at God
Trials require us to look past ourselves and squarely at God, because we have no one else to look too when we are in a desperate situation. When we look at God, we can either blame Him for the trial and its immediate negative consequence in our life (which is what most folks normally do), or we can look beyond the immediate negative consequences and see the eternal dimensions associated with the trial. In doing so, we can choose to trust God to carry us through the trial.
What is the unifying element that brings about all of these benefits in our thirst to be all we should be in the Kingdom of God?
I believe that trials are the one unifying element in all these aspects leading to a deeper spiritual walk and a more blessed eternal life!
¬ Trials can reveal whether or not you or I have genuine, saving faith.
1 Peter 1
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
¬ Trials cause us to face any known sin in our life and prompt us to live a deeper, more God-honoring spiritual life.
James 1
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Many times God uses trial in our life to strongly prompt us to do what our weak human will or carnal nature keep resisting our willing spirit to accomplish (“our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak”), in our needed Spiritual growth toward being like Christ!
The Death of a Seed Produces Abundant Life
Unless a seed dies, it simply stays a single seed, but if it dies it bears much fruit.
John 12
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
Testing often causes death to anticipated dreams, hopes and aspirations. While in actuality such death can bring profound life – usually of eternal significance, rather than self-glory!
¬ Trials are used by God to Discipline His Children, because of His Love for us!
If God has never disciplined us, we should review the reality of our relationship with God – because none of us are perfect.
God disciplines in a variety of ways, if we are His Children, to encourage us to live like He wants us to live. He includes trial in what He allows in our lives. Sometimes we may not know if the trial is discipline or not. In any case, if it deepens our spiritual walk, it reveals the purpose why God has allowed it in our life.
1 Corinthians 11
32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Hebrews 12
5…“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons…
10 …he (God) disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
¬ Trials can ironically, cause the Believer in Christ to be less and less enamored with the things of the world and have more and more of a longing to be at home with Christ.
(Trials might take worldly things from us – but only to reveal their inadequacies, and ultimately their unfulfilling, temporary status)
Hebrews 11
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
¬ Trials can be a primary means that gives the believer a closer identity with the Suffering of our Savior…something that Jesus says is important for each believer to experience!
o What are some of the reasons why this could be?
We tend to identify with those who go through similar experiences as us.
The deeper the experience, the more closely we identify with those who have similar depth of experience.
I believe the closest and deepest human dynamic that we can experience, in which we can relate to God, is suffering.
1 Peter 4
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
Romans 8
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
John 15
20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’
Colossians 1
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church…
The Incomprehensible “Perfect through Suffering” of Jesus Christ
Hebrews 2:9–11
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers….
Hebrews 5:8–9
8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,….
Hebrews 13:11–14
11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
Philippians 3
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
How can we know the deepness of God’s love for us, unless we understand, through participation, a certain depth of the sufferings of Christ?
¬ Trials could pay the greatest eternal “dividends” toward our eternal reward, if we respond in a Godly way.
If they could be measured, between commitment, service or trial, what gives the greatest eternal reward?
James 5:10–11
10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
1 Peter 2:19–24
19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Life’s trials are tamper-proof, “blind trials”; they are faith-revealers – one cannot fake it through fiery trial!
Look these up in your Bible to see the fullest context of the verses…
James 1
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
2 Corinthians 4:17, 18
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
¬ Trials allow us to minister more effectively to others in the “Fellowship of Sufferings” when we Bear Each Other’s Burdens.
Through the “wilderness trials” that we have experienced, the Lord allows us to effectively minister to others, to those who have experienced severe physical trial and severe emotional pain. Those who experience cancer, divorce, physical pain and a host of other relational or emotional trauma, can relate deeply with each other IF they have cast themselves upon God in the deepness of their trial and have made God their Refuge. After a time of healing, often these then care for others from the depth of their understanding, perception and Godly love.
Fellowship of Sufferings and Bearing Each Other’s Burdens
Gal. 6
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.
¬ Ultimately Trials cause us to Reflect the Grace and Glory of God!
Matthew 5
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
God-honoring response to trial does not go unnoticed in a world full of self-centeredness, pride and temporal insecurity. One who trusts in the Lord is like a light shining on a hill, pointing to God’s stable Refuge in the deepest times of distress and trouble! The world does not have that kind of true refuge, only false premises!
Conclusion
The Israelites faced 40 years in the wilderness because of sins against their Holy God:
1. Distrust of God’s Protection.
2. Quarrelling about God’s Provision.
3. Denying God’s Power.
4. Unbelief in God’s Promises.
As God’s Children, we too can find ourselves struggling with God’s protection, provision, power or promises. It may be then that God allows us to take some time learning more about God and ourselves in our own personal wilderness experience.
Our response to these “trials in the wilderness” can be used by God to reveal many things:
¬ Trials can reveal whether or not you or I have genuine, saving faith.
¬ Trials cause us to face any known sin in our life and prompt us to live a deeper, more God-honoring spiritual life.
¬ Trials are used by God to Discipline His Children, because of His Love for us!
¬ Trials can ironically, cause the Believer in Christ to be less and less enamored with the things of the world and have more and more of a longing to be at home with Christ.
¬ Trials can be a primary means that gives the believer a closer identity with the Suffering of our Savior…something that Jesus says is important for each believer to experience.
¬ Trials could pay the greatest eternal “dividends” toward our eternal reward, if we respond in a Godly way.
¬ Trials allow us to minister more effectively to others in the “Fellowship of Sufferings” when we Bear Each Other’s Burdens.
¬ Ultimately Trials cause us to Reflect the Grace and Glory of God!
Trials that God allows us to go through in our own wildernesses of life can be His means of purifying and preparing us for a deeper and more fruitful walk with God both now and in the coming Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.](Pt._6,_The_Biblical_Story_-_Wilderness_Wanderings_files/shapeimage_1.png)
