the sufficiency and supply of God in the wilderness
by Michael Catt
“God, You are my God;
I eagerly seek You.
I thirst for You;
my body faints for You in a land that is
dry, desolate, and without water.”
Psalm 63:1
Whatever form it takes, God ordains the wilderness so we’ll learn to lean on Him. At first, the Promised Land didn’t mean enough to the Israelites to fight for it, but after forty years in the wilderness, they were ready to fight for that milk and honey. God gets us to the point where we’ll become desperate enough to get on our knees and get in the Word.
Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, wrote:
The power of God to guide me,
The might of God to uphold me,
The wisdom of God to reach me,
The eye of God to watch over me,
The ear of God to hear me,
The Word of God to speak to me,
The hand of God to protect me,
The way of God to lie before me,
The shield of God to shelter me,
The hosts of God to defend me.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length,
Christ in height, Christ in heart.
God may have you at a rock with no water, a desert with no bread, and a river with no bridge. He hasn’t led you there to destroy you, but to ultimately bless you with a new revelation of Himself. If you are there, learn the lessons, let God humble you, and don’t fall into the trap of complaining about where you are. Christ has led you there to teach you things you would never learn otherwise. Focus on the unchanging Christ whose love is inexhaustible and whose arm never grows tired.