DESERT BLOSSOMS

DESERT BLOSSOMS
by Bryan Hupperts

"He led you through the great and terrible wilderness (desert), with
its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no
water; He brought water for you out of the rock." - Deut. 8: 15

"And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led
you in the wilderness (desert) 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: 2

The dry times, those painful seasons of barrenness, are times to be
humbled before the Lord. Jesus said that the Father was glorified when
we bare "much fruit that remains." Notice when the children of Israel
finally got fruit...after they had walked through the desert.
Fruitfulness is the ultimate objective of God for you when he has you
walking through a desert.

What is precious in the desert? Sand? No, there is shifting sand
everywhere. Sky? No, in fact, there is little protection from the
merciless beating of the sun. What is precious in the desert is water.

A single drop of water can make the difference between living and
dying. Water is the precious commodity of life. Life processes only
occur in the presence of water. Most plants cannot survive in deserts.
For those that can, survival depends on their tap root digging deep
through the sand to find water. Water is the survival issue in arid
lands. Having water is the decisive factor between what lives and what
dies.

Look at the history of God's dealings with his saints. He led his
people out of Egypt by the hand of Moses...through the desert headed
to the promised Land. John the Baptist lived in the desert until the
word of the Lord came to him. Jesus was "led by the Spirit" into the
desert to be tested by the devil. Paul spent years in the desert
before his commissioning as an Apostle. God has used the drought of
many deserts to forge some of His finest saints.

Deserts are such obscure places. They precede blessing but are
themselves looked upon as curses. They function to bring you to the
place of having to only concern yourself with the basics of existence.
It is when water, symbolic of the Living Word of God, becomes they
only issue of your life, what you live and die by, are you finally
ready to enter into the Masters service. One drop from heaven is all
you need. When all else in this world appears as sand in your eyes,
empty barren waste, you are ready for
Kingdom service.

Deserts have the curious effect of hardening your resolve while
humbling your heart before God.

Plants grow in direct relation to the amount of water available. When
you can blossom with just a little water, you can blossom anywhere!
After the desert, you will be "like a tree planted by the water"
thriving!

The only plants that survive the desert have root systems that can
find water. The roots' absorption force must be greater that that of
the soil. In other words, you have to thirst more for the Waters of
Life than the world. It is when you hunger and thirst for
righteousness that you are satisfied.

Don't curse the desert times. God is testing you, seeing what is in
your heart. Actually, he is letting you see what He has seen all
along. Allow your roots to grow deep into God so that "out of your
belly shall gush forth rivers of living water." A river in the desert
suddenly springing forth? Sure, that's His way.

God often uses the desert to prepare the messenger. When the messenger
is ready, then the message comes. We have our part to prepare
ourselves for the ministries God calls us to. We also have to be
prepared by God for those same tasks. When we can serve Him in a place
of barrenness, we can serve Him in a place of fruitfulness. It is when
we are humbled and broken of our own power that God can then show
Himself strong on our behalf.

There are some beautiful things growing in the desert. Be patient and
let Him finish what he has started in you. It takes a deep, well
developed root system, to be able to not only nourish a plant, but
produce and feed the growing fruit on its' branches. If there are no
roots, there will be no fruit. And His goal is to bring you to a place
of fruitfulness.

-Bryan Hupperts (c)1997.