After Jesus was baptized by John, Matthew writes, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”

After Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, he preached there, but then went into Arabia for several years. Did you know Arabia means “desert or barren?”

After Moses killed an Egyptian, he fled to the land of Midian where he stayed for 40 years. Midian? It’s right next to Arabia.

Right before God led the Israelites into the Promised Land, Moses spoke to them and said:

“Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. 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 what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.”  (Deuteronomy 8:1-5)

We know that after Jesus was in the desert for 40 days, He went on to call His first disciples and began His public ministry.

After Paul’s season in the desert, he began his ministry–taking the gospel to the gentiles.

Moses spent 40 years in the desert before God called him back to Egypt to lead His people into the land He’d promised to them.

I don’t think Jesus, Paul, Moses or the nation of Israel necessarily loved the desert. It seems to be a prerequisite though for effective ministry.

You may find yourself in your own desert today. It’s hard. It’s painful. You’d just like some relief. I know…I’ve been in the desert, too. It’s not any fun.

God is up to something though. He has you in the desert for a reason. He wants to reveal Himself to you. He wants to teach you. He wants to humble you. He wants you to know that you don’t live on bread alone, but on every Word of His. He is the One who is causing you to hunger and He is the One who is feeding you.

The desert won’t last forever. God uses it for a season and then brings you into a land of fruitfulness. Keep in mind–the desert is not only about you. God is teaching you and preparing you to enter a season of greater usefulness in His kingdom. Others will be blessed because you endured the desert.

If you don’t experience the desert, then You will not be prepared for how He will bless you and use you in the future. Just hold on. God is at work. He will lead you out at just the right time. Keep your eyes on Him and trust Him.

The desert must come first…then the Promised Land.