Surviving Dry Places - J.C Matthew

Surviving Dry Places

But He answered and said, "It is written, Man Shall not live

by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the

mouth of God ". Matthew 4:4

What does Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4 have in common

outside of them being almost identical in wording? Of course,

they are both found in the Bible. The answer is: They were

both spoken in a wilderness or a dry place. Moses and Jesus

both were concluding extended stays in a wilderness and came

to the same conclusion. Their conclusion was: "Man does not

live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of

the mouth of God."

You may have never spent any period of time in an actual

wilderness. However, at some point in your life you will

find yourselves in some very dry places. Your dry place might

be emotional, financial, physical, spiritual, relational or

some other form of deficiency or you have in your life. Each

person's wilderness is just as real as the other's. These dry

places and times in our lives are not designed to kill or stop

us, but to grow us in our relationship and understanding of God.

They are places of decision and learning where the flesh is

tried and our spiritual man (or woman) is matured

The wilderness is not always a bad place. The purpose for the

wilderness in our lives is three fold. These purposes are to:

(1) try us - physically, mentally and spiritually, (2) reveal

ourselves to ourselves, (3) bring us to a place of total

surrender to God. We must come to a place where we no longer

seek fulfillment, meaning and sufficiency in others or our own

efforts - but in God. Until we learn to trust God's Word in

every situation we cannot enjoy the promises He has spoken

over our lives.

I don't know what your particular wilderness is, but I can tell

you that the test and the lesson is the same. God does not

deny that you have needs. However, He does say that your primary

means of meeting these needs should be found within His Word.

If you are currently in a "dry place" in your life ask yourself,

"What is it that God is trying to teach me here?" "Have I been

depending on His Word or something or someone else?" The answer

to these questions may determine how long you'll be there. The

children of Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness before they

entered into their promise because they continually failed the

test. Jesus passed His test the first time and left His

wilderness experience in 40 days. The way to shorten your time

in these dry places of life is to learn the lessons taught

while there.