The Israelites wondered in the desert for years trying to figure out who they were.  At times we can see them beginning to understand God and His desire for them.  Then at other times it was if they were just out there roaming and wondering what was going to happen next.  Their search for authenticity with God never moved far from the hearts of the Israelities.

In our modern day world I believe the church has become our “spiritual desert.”  We are safe here and continue to seek after God at times trying to figure out where He is and what He desires from us.  While at times we get it and the message of truth penetrates our hearts and minds.  Still our search for authenticity with God continues as we move in and out of our “spiritual desert.”  We know God is here and we coming back hoping to find a little bit more of Him to integrate into our lives.

The difficulty of the “spiritual desert” lies in the harsh reality that we keep coming to the church to make it happen and we ignore God outside of those walls.  At times we will all find ourselves struggling with the “spiritual desert” and trying to find our way back to Him.  I want to take a minute and just encourage those who are seeking God on every level.

“Decreasing the amount of the frequency of sin in your life, increasing the amount of frequency of righteousness.”  John McArthur

While I may not agree with McArthur’s view of sanctification I do realize that we quit doing things that take us away from God we will more likely grow closer to God in the process.  There are two simple simple actions that will help us all continue to grow closer to God and help stay out of the “spiritual desert.”

1.  Maintain a Heart for knowing God – 1 Peter 2:1-3 – when we are seeking Him and spending time with Him the things that the world offers and the desires of our sinful nature will be easier to deny.

2.  Maintain a Heart for Pleasing God – 1 Timothy 4:10 – 16 – if our heart is striving to please God then the things that we are doing will be focused on what he desires.  This is where so many of begin to lose focus and strive to fulfill self.  Pleasing God does not get us what we want in all situations and our motivation in life has to be to follow the example that he set forth.

1 Timothy 4 basically says, “Be committed to hard work, dare to face opposition, show yourself an example, live for the purpose of communicating the truth, be constantly maturing.”  If we can live that life then I truly belive that the “spiritual desert” will be something we look out upon as we have now entered the promise land.

“I want to be a man whose heart yearns to know God.  I long to be a man whose heart aches with a desire to please God.”  Dewey Bertonllini