“The Purpose of Our Trials”
Pastor V. P. Oliver
Deuteronomy 8:2 (1-6)
"And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
Because of their stubborn disobedience and lack of faith, God caused the original generation of Israelites, except for Joshua and Caleb, to perish in the wilderness. Moses, the author of the book of Deuteronomy, found himself finally at the borders of Canaan prepared to lead a new generation of people into the Promised Land. The word “Deuteronomy” means, “second law,” and it comes from the fact that Moses was not re-writing, but restating the law handed down from God to the children of Israel 40 years earlier at Mt. Sinai. All of these people were 20 years or younger when their parents failed to believe God and cross the Jordan River into Canaan. This new generation needed to hear the Law again, so Moses restates it by way of this 5th Book of the Bible. Moses understood that we all men have short memories and that it was important that they know God’s Word afresh as they were about to face new challenges and new enemies. Deuteronomy is a series of addresses to the new generation that reviews the past history of the nation. We are not called to live in the past, but we can never understand the present or prepare for the future if we are ignorant of the past.
For the time that I have, I want to examine this text from the perspective of this new generation of Israelites to discover God’s purpose and reason behind their 40-year trial in the wilderness. For the first generation, the Law was for their survival in the wilderness. But this new generation needed the same Law, but for their spiritual growth and development. Our own spiritual journey can benefit as we look at “The Purpose of Our Trials” by way of our text.
1. THERE IS A DIVINE NATURE FOR OUR TRIALS.
First of all, THERE IS A DIVINE NATURE FOR OUR TRIALS. God has a method to the trials He sends our way that is unique. The nature of our trials is such that you will undoubtedly recognize the hand of God in the midst of your testing. Have you ever come through some tramitic expereince knowing that you should not have survived, but you did? In retrospect you realized it was the hand of God.
(a) Quite often our trials are SUSTAINED. Notice how He dealt with His chosen people. In verse 2 we read: “The LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness…” We know that the number 40 in the Bible is always associated with the period of probation, trial and chastisement. Moses spent 40 years of probation by waiting, first in the courts of Pharaoh, and then 40 years of probation by waiting in Midian tending his father-in-laws sheep. He was on Mt. Sinai for 40 days to receive the Law, and our text references Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness and their probation by trial. These 40 years remind us of the patience of God. He Who sits outside of the confines of time presiding over eternity can afford to wait. Psalm 90:4 informs us: “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” I’m kind of glas that God has been patient with me. The great wheels of His divine purpose move slowly but surely during our time of trials.
(b) Trials are also SEVERE. In verse 3 we read, “(He) suffered thee to hunger…” God could have easily prevented this, but He suffered it to be so. God will often allow us to experience need and discomfort. And before you ask the question why, let me tell you – so that we will have need and cause to call upon Him. The Apostle Paul, after asking God three times to remove his thorn in the flesh wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” The nature of trials is to be SEVERE.
(c) Then many of our trials are UNDER HIS SUPERVISION. Verse 2 says: “…the LORD your God led you…” We often say that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, but this verse lets us know that it was the Lord Who led them those 40 years. You may not like the direction that you are headed, but the good news is that He has not forsaken those whom He hath redeemed. So the divine nature of our trials are SEVERE, SUSTAINED and UNDER HIS SUPERVISION.
2. THERE ARE BLESSINGS FOR OUR TRIALS.
Then THERE ARE BLESSINGS FOR OUR TRIALS. It is reassuring to know that the author of your trials continues to bless you while you are going through. It may appear that God has forgotten about you, you may even be tempted to believe that God is not aware of your difficulties, but God sees and blesses His child even in the midst of their suffering and testing. God’s people were in the wilderness as result of their lack of faith, but while there, His blessings continued to flow.
(a) In verse 3 we read that He fed them with manna. Whenever God permits you to hunger you can be sure that it is so that His mercy may be observed as He provides us with the necessities of life.
(b) Their clothes did wear out. Verse 4 tells us: “Thy clothing grew not old upon thee…” Forty years of daily wear and tear and God blessed them clothing that would not wear out. Mamma used to say, “A little will go a long way when God blesses it.” Clothes suggest the outward appearance of our daily lives. And every blood bought child of God is adorned in the robe of God’s righteousness, which never gets worse for the wear while on this journey.
(c) God kept their feet as well. Verse 4 says: “…neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.” God did not allow their feet to be injured because of the lack of shoes or sandals. According to Psalm 121:8,”The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” This is a reference to preserved ability to walk in His ways and even to witness for Him. It is when we turn away from the Lord that the feet of the faithful fail and we begin to limp.
(d) And the final blessing during our trial is the BLESSING OF HIS PRESENCE. Can I take you back to verse two? “…the LORD thy God led thee…” He was with them at the Red Sea, and He was with them in every battle. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus said, “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” God blessed them with food that would not run out, clothes and shoes that would not wear out, and His abiding presence.
3. THERE ARE REASONS FOR OUR TRIALS.
Finally, always remember that THERE ARE REASONS FOR OUR TRIALS. God has a purpose for your life and that purpose is as big as the universe, and as definite as the light of truth. God often chooses to grow, strengthen and prepare us through His trials. But sometimes He has to work on our character. Look at how He dealt with Israel. The REASONS for Israel’s trial was threefold:
(a) Verse 2 says:”… to humble thee…” Israel’s problem was pride and doubting God. And God had to humble them. Forty years of humbling, while all of that generation continued to die, one by one by one. How long will it take for God to humble you? That’s what the Lord requires of His people, to walk humbly with their God that they might love mercy and do justly. God delights to dwell in the contrite and humble heart of the believer. And the purpose of our trials is that we might be humbled. It places us in a better position to enjoy the blessing that follows the trial.
(b) God told Israel their trial was “to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart…” The goal of every fiery furnace, the lesson every den of hungry lions, or every Philippian jail cell is to reveal the inner character of His child. I am reminded of the Lord’s word’s to Abraham after he had been severely tested in Genesis 22:12: ”And He said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me.“ Taking the life of Abraham’s only son Isaac was not the goal of God’s trial, but to prove Abraham’s love and obedience to God. God wants to know what in your heart and does it belong to Him, so He sends trials our way.
(c) And lastly, God’s purpose for Israel’s trial is found in verse 3: “…(to) make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.” God’s trials serve to teach us. Yes, God fed them with manna, but their true survival depended on them delighting themselves in the words of His law. What manna was to the children of Israel, the Word of God should be to every child of God today. John’s Gospel tells us that one day the Word of God was made flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus called Himself the “Bread of life.” In John 6:63 He said: “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
So the REASONS of our trials are, to humble us, to prove us, and to teach us; to make us know.
