Wilderness Wandering 4

Wilderness Wandering

Part 4

"The Wilderness of Trouble"

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt." (Hosea 2:14-15)

Notice that God says he will allure his people into the wilderness.

There are times when God leads his people out of all the busy-ness, the hustle and bustle of a fast-paced life, to where it is dry, lonely, and dark in order to bring us to himself.

In the wilderness experiences of life, God gets our undivided attention for our own good.

Sometimes the Lord has to bring us to a place where sin is no longer appealing...

Or where worldly pursuits are no longer satisfying so that we might hate it and want more of Him!

When Israel arrived in the wilderness, God gave “her vineyards there and [made] the Valley of Achor a door of hope.”

And so it is for us today.

It is our wilderness experiences that God uses to bring us back to spiritual well-being and prosperity.

He will take our trouble and turn it into hope.

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Now, let me give you a little history:

“Achor” in Hebrew literally means “trouble," and The Valley of Achor refers to Joshua 7:10-26 and the sin of a man named Achan.

Achan had stolen forbidden silver idols from the enemy's camp and hidden them in his tent.

After Israel loses a battle they should easily have won against a little town called Ai, Joshua knew something was seriously wrong.

He prayed and God told him there was sin in the camp.

Joshua sent out a search and discover party and they soon found the forbidden objects hidden under Achan's bed.

His wife, his sons and daughters, and his oxen, donkeys, sheep and all his possessions were executed in the Valley of Achor by Joshua and all of Israel for their sin.

After this grim and difficult moment was over, God’s anger was lifted.

In verse 26, it says, “Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor,” because in verse 25, Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us?”

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So, in Hosea, when we read that God has made the “Valley of Achor a door of hope” it is no small thing.

He is telling Israel that he will take them from a wilderness of great trouble to a place where hope is all they see!

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Now, let me apply this today to you and me...

---Troubles happen to us all...

Sometimes, like Achan, we bring the trouble onto ourselves.

We make bad choices, take a well-meaning but unwise path, or involve ourselves in something God has clearly forbidden....and suddenly find ourselves in a valley of trouble.

When you're in trouble you've got problems that seem bigger than you.

You often feel like there's no way out, like it's too late for you to get control of the situation.

Worry, fretting, sleeplessness, and despair are familiar companions when trouble is there.

We feel like the disciples in the storm at sea with the waves beating against our boat, the threatening wind is howling, and it seems like Jesus is asleep---unaware of your troubles....

"Don't you care that we perish!" they screamed.

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Many of you are troubled today.

You love the Lord, you've tried to live right, you've been faithful with many things, yet trouble has come knocking.

Your marriage is in trouble, or your kids have gone crazy on you, or you've lost your job and don't know what to do next....

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And some of you today are like Achan, you've made a bad decision or a series of bad decisions and the blessing of God has lifted.

Now the consequences are rolling in and it seems more than you can bear.

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I've got good news for you either way!

----God is there for you with a promise consisting of 4 "I will's"....

"I will bring you into a wilderness place,

"I will speak tenderly to you there..." And,

I will give you vineyards from there..."

I will transform the Valley of Trouble into a door of hope."

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The FIRST "I will" is....

I. I will bring you into a wilderness place

This may not sound very appealing, but when you see the wilderness like God does, you realize it is really a place of PROTECTION....

In the wilderness, Gone are all the conflicting voices, distractions and other competitors for your attention----you are alone there, which is exactly what God wants.

God says to Israel in Hosea 2:6, "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and will wall you in....you will chase your lovers but not find them."

In the wilderness you will seek those things that have replaced God in your life and won't be able to locate them---which is all part of God's plan of protection.

He PROTECTS you in the wilderness by cutting off every bad influence, every idol that has replaced Him...

And in doing so gets your undivided attention.

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The next I WILL is....

II. I will speak tenderly to you there.

The Hebrew actually reads, "I will speak to your heart."

Rather than bring judgment or treat you harshly, God chooses to be gentle and speak tenderly to you there.

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This is the whole purpose of the wilderness experience, That we would learn to not "live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds...."

The wilderness sharpens our spiritual ears to hear Him.

ILLUS: Prior to the wilderness we've often become like a radio that just can't pull in the signal.....there's too much interfering static.

So in the wilderness God fine tunes our hearing so that we can clearly hear that STILL SMALL VOICE....

In your WILDERNESS OF TROUBLE, the Lord wants to speak to your heart.

Words of comfort, words of understanding, words of encouragement, and words of restoration.

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So...in our troubles God often 1.)leads us into the wilderness, 2.) speaks comfort to our hearts....

And the third I WILL is,

III. I will give you vineyards from there...

Another version more accurately puts it this way, "There (in the wilderness) I will give back her vineyards to her..."

So this isn't saying God will give you new vineyards you've never seen before (though He does that too)....

It's stronger and more personal than that.

He is saying that He will RESTORE the vineyards you lost in your time of trouble!

You will re-gain lost ground, re-take lost territory, re-discover lost joy!

Now that is a promise to sink your faith into!

Some of you today are looking at devastation and loss in your life.

It seems nothing good can come from what's happened.

The enemy has come in like a flood and you see no hope.

God has a Word for you----I will give you back your grape fields.

Though it may not be the same person, the same place, or the same thing, it WILL BE the same quality of fruit....and even better!

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And the fourth I WILL IS...

IV. I WILL transform the Valley of Achor into a door of hope.

This is so powerful because one thing we don't generally see in our wilderness of trouble is a DOOR MARKED HOPE!

But this is God's promise----"I will transform your trouble...."

Only God can transform TROUBLE into HOPE.

But there is only one condition for the valley of trouble being transformed into a door of hope-----Achan must die.

Joshua knew that they were frozen in time, paralyzed in their walk until Achan was dealt with.

Whatever God shows us as we listen to His voice speaking gently, we must obey.

Usually, God points out an Achan or two....

You might say that God shows us where we have an 'ACHAN HEART.'

We have put a person before God, or some lust or sin that found its way into our soul, or some painful event from our past we've been unwilling to let go of.....

Whatever it is, Achan must die....

And as soon as Achan is dealt with, God begins to transform the wilderness of trouble into a doorway of hope....

Not just for us to walk through, but for others to walk through our testimony!

I will bring you into a wilderness, I will speak to your heart there, I will restore back to you lost vineyards, and I will transform your trouble into a doorway of hope.

LET'S PRAY