Fasting and the Wilderness

Finding Rest in the Wilderness: The Transformative Power of Spiritual Dependency

Augustine once prayed, "You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You." These words capture a profound truth about the human condition—we are designed for divine connection, yet our hearts wander restlessly until they find their home in God.

The challenge we face isn't merely about knowing truth. Even demons possess theological knowledge and can quote Scripture. What distinguishes a transformed life isn't information alone, but the way we live—the habits we cultivate, the rhythms we establish, and the dependencies we nurture.

The Way We Live Shapes Who We Become

Consider how your daily habits shape your desires. If you consistently consume junk food, your body begins to crave more junk food. Conversely, if you discipline yourself to eat healthier options, even when they don't initially appeal to you, something remarkable happens—your body starts craving what's good for it.

This principle extends far beyond nutrition. Every habit we practice, from the moment we reach for our phone upon waking to how we spend our evenings, shapes our loves and points our hearts in a particular direction. What we do throughout our days may shape us as much as—or more than—what we know.

The Wilderness: A Place of Transformation

Throughout Scripture, the wilderness represents the opposite of Eden's abundance. It's a place of scarcity, testing, and exposure. Yet paradoxically, it's also where most biblical characters experienced their most profound encounters with God and underwent their deepest transformations.

People find themselves in wilderness seasons for various reasons:

As consequences of sin (like Cain after killing Abel)
Through oppression by others (like Hagar fleeing Sarah, or David running from Saul)
While running from problems (like Moses)
By divine appointment (like Israel after Egypt, or Jesus led by the Spirit)
Regardless of how we arrive, the wilderness serves a critical purpose: it deconstructs our old ways and reconstructs us into someone new by leading us to a place where we cannot protect or provide for ourselves.

The Lesson Israel Failed to Learn

When God delivered Israel from Egypt, He deliberately chose the long route to the Promised Land. Exodus 13:17 explains that God avoided the shorter path "lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt."

There was a direct route to get their bodies to the Promised Land, but no shortcut to prepare their hearts. God needed to teach them dependency, to train them in hearing His voice and practicing obedience. If they learned these lessons, they could face anything.

Unfortunately, Israel failed the test. They became idolatrous, sexually immoral, and—surprisingly—complainers. Grumbling is listed alongside idolatry and sexual immorality as reasons for their failure. Complaining in trials guarantees we'll either fail to reach our potential or find ourselves right back in another wilderness season, retaking the same test.

The Heart Problem of Abundance

Deuteronomy 8 contains one of Scripture's most sobering warnings. Moses tells Israel that God is bringing them into an abundant land—a place flowing with water, wheat, barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey. A land so rich you can dig wealth from the ground.

But then comes the warning: "When your belly gets full and you live in houses and your business is going well and you're prospering... you will forget the Lord your God."

This is human nature. When we face insurmountable problems, we drop to our knees in sincere prayer. God answers, delivers us from trouble, and we thank Him gratefully. But weeks later, our prayer life diminishes, our intimacy wanes, and we coast.

God's dilemma is heartbreaking: "I want to bless you, but My blessing turns your heart away from Me. How do I give you the blessing and keep your heart?"

The answer? We must learn to maintain wilderness dependency even in garden abundance.

God's Unusual Courtship Strategy

Hosea 2:14 reveals God's surprising approach to winning back His unfaithful bride: "Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness."

Not to a fancy restaurant. Not with flowers and wine. Into the wilderness.

Why? Because in the wilderness, stripped of everything else, she would have nothing but Him. There He could speak tenderly to her heart. There He would "make the valley of trouble a door of hope."

God uses trials and problems not to punish but to woo our hearts back to faithfulness.

The Wisdom of the Sweet Spot

Proverbs 30:7-9 captures profound wisdom about this tension: "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of God."

The author understood the human heart intimately. When we're full, we don't need God. When we're desperate, we can act in the flesh and create bigger problems. The sweet spot is receiving what we need—enough to avoid desperation, but not so much that we forget our Source.

Jesus in the Wilderness

Jesus entered the wilderness to succeed where humanity had failed. Driven by the Holy Spirit, He faced the same enemies we all battle: the tempter and our own flesh.

Satan's three temptations reveal the core struggles we all face:

Appetite: "Turn these stones to bread." Jesus responded with Deuteronomy 8: "Man does not live by bread alone."

Ambition: "I'll give you all the kingdoms if you worship me." Jesus replied, "You shall worship the Lord and Him only shall you serve."

Approval: "Throw yourself down and prove you're somebody." Jesus answered, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

Jesus entered the wilderness full of the Holy Spirit's character. He left with the power of the Spirit. What happened in between? He gained victory over the devil and His own flesh through dependency on God rather than His own strength.

The Power Made Perfect in Weakness

Paul discovered a counterintuitive truth. Despite pleading three times for God to remove his "thorn in the flesh," God responded, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."

Paul's conclusion? "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me... For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities aren't gifts from God, but they become gifts in disguise when they turn us toward dependency on Him.

Keeping a Wilderness Heart

The challenge before us is clear: Can we receive God's garden blessings while maintaining a wilderness heart?

When our bellies become full, our hearts become dull. This is the pattern we must break. We need practices like fasting that intentionally place us in positions of dependency, that remind us of our need for God even when we have plenty.

The wilderness isn't ultimately about geography or circumstances—it's about posture. It's about choosing dependency over self-sufficiency, trust over control, and intimacy over independence.

Our hearts are restless until they rest in God. The wilderness, uncomfortable as it may be, is often the pathway home.

(This blog was created from Pastor Stacy's original sermon using pulpit.ai)