May 14th, 2007

What's In Your Heart

Read Deuteronomy 8:1-10

"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 your heart..." vs. 2

Last night my wife and I took the time to set down and watch the movie Facing the Giants (which is a remarkable movie and I would encourage anyone to watch it). One of the most important moments in the movie, a movie that was predominantly centered around a football team, was between the head coach of the team and his wife. They had been trying to get pregnant for four years and were unsuccessful. Their hearts desired nothing more than to be able to raise a child, but for some reason God had not granted them the desire of their hearts. At one point in the movie, the head coach stands embracing his wife and looks to her and asks, "Will you still love the Lord if he never gives us a child." Teary eyed, she can't answer. That's the question...In the dryness, disappointment, uncertainty, and pain of life, "Will you still love the Lord?" "In the barrenness of the desert, will your heart turn to Him?"

In our passage for today, the nation of Israel experiences a forty year period in which that question is the first they face every morning. "If we don't make it into the promised land today, will we still love and choose to serve the Lord? Will we wait upon His provision?" For forty years the desire of their hearts was withheld...Dryness, barrenness, and disappointment were daily issues (daily Giants) they faced. However, according to this passage this period of wandering in the wilderness of the desert wasn't at all wasted. It was during this time that God was at work shaping and forming the people he would give the gift of the good land. During this time God was testing the people to find out what lay in the depths of their hearts. Would they turn away or would they continue to follow? "Will they still love the Lord and obey him..."

Not one of us is exempt from such periods of testing. Inevitably, for the follower of Jesus there will come a time when the depths of our faith is tested. There will be times when it feels like the good, broad, promised land has been withheld. We might wander around in the barren desert of our relationships, our finances, our jobs, our families, our health, our callings, our spirituality. We might wake up every morning facing the question, "If I don't see the promise today, will I still love Him?" The time period for such testing differs for each person. The result of such testing differs for each person. But the result is the same. Devotion to the Lord, loving the Lord requires an answer to the probing question of surrender and submission. The state of our hearts is determined by this answer. God maybe using this time in your life to humble you, test you, and help you recognize your utter dependence upon him. So I ask, "Will you still love Him if..."