Preparations of the Heart

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8

We've been taking a hard look at God's purposes in the wilderness. I think it all boils down to preparation of the heart. After 400 years of slavery, the Israelites needed to rediscover their God and learn to follow Him. They experienced His miraculous deliverance from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. But they also needed to experience Him in the wilderness before they would be ready to enter the Promised Land. God wanted them to have a right picture of Him so they would follow with whole hearts into the new land. Unfortunately, as we've seen, many of them still missed it. We don't want to make the same mistakes. So how did God reveal Himself in the wilderness?

1. He led and protected His people. Exodus 13:21 says "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night." The pillar of cloud gave the people something visible to follow and provided shade to protect them from the hot sun. The pillar of fire at night provided light to their path. He was always with them. All they needed to do was follow in the shade or light of His presence.

2. He provided for their needs. Psalm 78:15-16 says, "He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers." And verses 23-25, "Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them the bread of heaven. Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full." This not only speaks of God's ample provision for physical needs, but spiritual as well. Jesus is the "living water" and "bread of life" that we so desperately need.

3. He purified their hearts. Psalm 78:32-35 says, "In spite of this, they still sinned, and did not believe in His wondrous works. Therefore, their days He consumed in futility, and their years in fear. When He slew them, they they sought Him; and they returned and sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer." God allowed them to experience the consequences of their sin and many died. But some turned from their sin, sought the Lord and remembered who He was.

In summary, God was preparing His people to enter the land of destiny by revealing His character and purifying their hearts in the desert. We, too, need to prepare our hearts so we don't miss what God has for us.

My Tuesday morning Bible study at church is going through the book of Matthew. When we reached Chapter 3, I got a new perspective on verses 11-12. John the Baptist is speaking to the the Pharisees and Sadducees - religious leaders of the day. He says, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He (Jesus) who is coming after me is mightier than I , whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." I had always thought this passage was talking about judgment, but it is really about purification. The definition of chaff is "worthless residue". God wants to clean out the residue that's clogging up our hearts and lives. While "chaff" can be sin, it can also just be worthless worldly stuff that clouds our vision and keeps us from seeing God clearly. Jesus wants to purify us and gather the "wheat" from our lives - the part that is useful and has eternal value. According to Scripture, this is connected to the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Jon Courson says, "Many people want the power of the Spirit, but they are not interested in the fire, the purity. The baptism of Jesus in the Spirit is a baptism of fire - which speaks of purity. It's a dying to self, a cleansing of motives. Many folks want that power, but they don't want a changed lifestyle." Whoa - how's that for a convicting statement?

In the wilderness, God proves to us that He is our Pathfinder, Protector, Provider and Purifier. We can trust Him to take us into new spiritual territory, even if we don't know exactly what that looks like. We don't need to have all the answers, but we do need to fully follow Him and not settle for the familiar side of the river. Then we will be ready to cross the Jordan.