Truth Unites - How to Persevere in Wilderness Seasons

Episode Date: February 8, 2024

In this video Gavin Ortlund preaches a sermon on I Kings 17 about how God's provision enables us to persevere in wilderness seasons. Truth Unites exists to promote gospel assurance through theological depth. Gavin Ortlund (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is President of Truth Unites and Theologian-in-Residence at Immanuel Nashville. SUPPORT: Tax Deductible Support: https://truthunites.org/donate/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/truthunites FOLLOW: Twitter: https://twitter.com/gavinortlund Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthUnitesPage/ Website: https://truthunites.org/

This is the first of two videos that are sermons, and the goal is to try to provide encouragement, especially for people who are in a difficult season of life or ministry. Have you ever thought about the fact that life is seasonal? Sometimes we forget about this. I'm recording this in February. I think February is a difficult season for many of us. The later months of the winter, it drags on. A lot of people struggle with depression after the new year. But also just in the world right now. There's, there are, lots of people are going through many things. So this sermon is going to be on 1st King 17 and seasons of waiting. And we're going to talk about how we need God's provision in those seasons. The next sermon, come out a few days after this one, it's going to be in seasons

of discouragement and how we need God's perspective. So God's provision for seasons of waiting, God's perspective for seasons of discouragement. I want to start by talking about William Carey, wonderful. People call him the father of modern missions. amazing missionary had a huge impact. He served for 41 years abroad. He translated the Bible into multiple languages. He founded over 100 schools. The entire culture and economy of India was affected by his ministry. But the early years of his ministry there was a wilderness season. His family got sick. His son, one of his sons died. And for the first six years that he was there, he didn't see a single convert. Later in life, he was. He was a single convert. Later in life, he was

asked what made his life fruitful, and he described it by saying, I can plod, I can persevere in any definite pursuit to this, I owe everything. I think about that quote a lot in ministry. I think there's a lot of truth to that in terms of how ministry goes. This reality of wilderness seasons that you have to persevere through is amazingly common. I think my grandfather is another example of this. He and my grandparents and my parents are two great ministry heroes of mine, and I often think if I can just follow in each of their footsteps, my life will be well spent. But one of the stories I heard about my grandfather, he had this wonderful ministry at a church in Pasadena for 20 years. I always heard these great stories of how the Lord used him.

And my dad shared with me one time how hard the early years there were at times, that there were difficult seasons. And at one point it was even described in terms of the two decades, the first decade and the second decade laying foundations, and the second decade seeing more of the fruit. And I remember thinking, wow, a whole decade. That's a long season. Easy to give up after five years or seven years or so forth. But I think probably many of you probably understand this. Those of you who have a relationship with Christ, you know there's these seasons.

You know, so much of life is seasonal. And it's a reality in the Bible. I think the most poignant expression of this in the Bible is 1st Kings 17, 1st Kings 18, 1st, Kings 19. what these two sermons will be about. This is, I've learned so much from this little corner of the Bible. I could study just these three chapters for the rest of my life, and I'd never touch the bottom. There's so much there. But this is the ministry of Elijah, the prophet Elijah. Think of it like this. You could say, what's the most dynamic ministry season in the whole Bible? I would say, First Kings 18. Elijah has the showdown with the prophets of bail on Mount Carmel. He calls down

fire from heaven. There's a miracle. Basically single-handedly, he purifies the nation from idolatry. He sparks a revival among God's people, and he brings to an end a three-and-a-half-year drought. So let's describe that season of ministry and life as fire from heaven. Just unmistakable, divine power showing up. But then you have First King 17. And you could say, if you were to ask, what's the most modest ministry season in the Bible? I would say first king 17. So the most powerful ministry season is preceded by the first most modest. Basically Elijah in this chapter is getting fed by he's out in the wilderness. It's a wilderness season. We'll talk about what's going on. So you have these two seasons. Now they're almost the opposite in their effect. One is extremely modest. One is

extremely powerful, but it's the same person. You know, one is, is the, is the, this sort of public vindication. You think of First King's 18 is like, if you got to preach at half time at the Super Bowl and, you know, revival breaks out or something like this. That's the kind of thing we all want to see in our ministry and in our life if you're a follower of Christ. First King 17 is the opposite. This is like when you're just barely hanging on. And even if you're not a follower of Jesus, but you're watching this video, I bet you can relate to that on some level of just seasons of life where you're just kind of, you're not, you're not enjoying it. You're just hanging on hoping it gets better, you know? And it's just amazing to me that in these two seasons, Elijah is the

exact same person. He's equally faithful to God. He's equally skilled. It's not like he goes from working not as hard to working harder or something. The difference between this extreme modesty and wilderness season and this extreme power season is just the purposes of God. God. God has a different purpose in different seasons, and this is the hard reality that I'm making this video to try to encourage somebody out there, because I think this is true in our lives. First King's 18 seasons are relatively rare. Most of life feels a lot more like First Kings 17. I would just pose the question to ask you, maybe you could think about this.

What kind of season are you in in your life right now or your ministry? Maybe it's a season of waiting on God's timing. You're just waiting for that door to open. Maybe it's a season of suffering. I think a lot of people in the world are in that right now. Maybe it's a season of decision-making and discernment. Maybe it's a season of exhaustion and fatigue. Young parents out there are not getting enough sleep.

You know, there's all different seasons we go through. Most of life is in these different seasons. Many of them are, they feel like the wilderness. And so here's the question. What if Elijah had given up in First King's 17? He never makes it to First Kings 18. What if my granddad gave up in that, first decade at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, never would have made it to the second decade.

What if William Carey had given up when he didn't see a convert for the first six years? And then what if you and I give up when we're in the wilderness? And that way of putting it helps me, and it kind of reminds me of just how important it is to persevere and, like William Carey said, to plod. So in this sermon, what I want to basically do is just show three specific ways that God is caring for Elijah in the wilderness that we can apply. to our lives as well through the gospel. We can say God cares for us in that way as well. God is protecting him, preserving him, preparing him. Preparing him is the best.

But we'll say these first too quickly. First, God is protecting Elijah. If you just start reading in chapter 17, it starts off so well for Elijah. He goes to Ahab, the king of Israel, and he's very triumphant. Listen to how he might have said it. As the Lord, the God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall be neither do nor reign these years except by my word. You get this sense of, you know, he's starting off in this great position of authority and so forth. The context here is that God is sending a drought upon Israel as a form of judgment, and King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, have been leading the nation into idolatry, worshipping the Canaanite god Bail, who's supposedly the god of the storm, and so the judgment is coming in this specific way through a drought, to show that basically God is the Lord, the God of Israel is the real God, not Bail.

So if you think about in the ancient world, a culture that depends upon farming, rain is everything. So in one sense, this is putting Elijah in a position of incredible power. He may as well have gone to Ahab and said, basically, you may be the king, but I'm really in charge. The fate of the nation depends upon my word. And you just, I've often thought about this, the transition from verse one to verse two and this humbling reality that those who speak the word of God are themselves under the word of God, because only after this, after he says that to Ahab, does Elijah get his own word? Verse two, and the word of the Lord came to him.

Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself. Remember those words, by the brook, Carruth, which is east of the Jordan, you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. Now, so then you say, why does it say, hide yourself? The Carroth Brook, east of the Jordan, is a harsh desert climate where very few people lived. It's a literal wilderness. I used to live in California. Sometimes in the winter you go out to the desert, you know.

Think of these places. You're going inland and, you know, it's very harsh. It's very hot. And it's so poignant to think of this mighty prophet out there all alone with nobody to see, nobody to talk to. You know, this is the paradox of Elijah out in the wilderness. He controls the highest rain clouds in the sky. But when he himself is thirsty, he has to stoop down to the brook to drink. The word of God that he speaks to Ahab, he has to humble himself underneath as well.

And this would have been a humbling, difficult wilderness season. Worse than probably what most of us, I never presume. What somebody out there is going through, maybe you may be barely hanging on. God be with you if you are. But most of us probably haven't been through something quite like this. This was three and a half years for Elijah total. We know that from the book of James. And it would not have been an easy experience.

A few years ago, I wrote down, I used my imagination to try to think through, you know, because I was thinking, oh, it'd be interesting. This miraculous provision of Ravens bringing you food. This is what he's experiencing. You might not realize right away how difficult that would be. Just three reasons to be difficult. Number one is just the sheer monotony of it and the boredom of it, the same thing day after day, eating the same food, the same scenery. You can't travel too far from the Carruth Brook because that's your water supply. So you're just stuck there.

It's very isolating day after day. Number two, the loneliness. Tom Hanks in Castaway. Remember how he becomes friends with Wilson, the volleyball? You know, you think about when someone's in isolation like that, or Will Smith in I Am legend, you know, there's a one scene where he's like talking to the mannequins because you can tell how lonely he is. You just imagine Elijah out there, no one to talk to. and also no idea what's happening in the outside world. Just complete isolation.

And then number three, the inactivity of it. So the boredom, the loneliness, but also just the sense of sitting on the sidelines. Here's this mighty thundering prophet who's just proven he's unafraid to challenge kings. He's unafraid to, you know, stand up and put it all in the line and fight, and then God sort of puts him on the bench. And he's just out there waiting for years, years of his life. I mean, finally, so this chapter 17 falls out in two halves. The careth brook is there, then that dries up.

He's released, but then he has to go 80 miles north up to Zarifath. Zarifath is the homeland of Jezebel, the heart of Baalism. And God sends him there where his ministry is limited to two people, a Gentile widow and her son. So you can just imagine this, you can just picture Elijah in this season. And some of you have asked questions like that, like, Lord, what is the point of this? Why is this taking so long? How is this productive? You know, have you abandoned me?

Is there still more out ahead for me? I think all people who follow Christ will have moments like that where you're really, you're wondering, what is the purpose of this wilderness season? Here's a way we can start to understand how God is it working, how he's protecting Elijah and this very obscurity. that would have been so painful was actually part of God's design to protect him. So here's the question. How popular do you think Elijah was during this three and a half year drought? And the answer is about as popular as someone who says, I control the economy and the next morning the stock market crashes.

The sequence of events is Elijah says, I control the rain, then Elijah disappears, then the rain stops. So you can imagine his approval ratings would have plummeted. When Elijah finally emerges from the wilderness, First Kings 1810 says that King Ahab sent out spies everywhere to try to kill him. So, in other words, the Carithbrook and the Zarifath were God's protection over Elijah. This is his way of keeping him safe from the spies, from those who would seek to harm him. He couldn't have known that. You know, you picture him there just sitting there day for day by the Carith brook.

he couldn't have possibly known all that God was doing. And the point is to say to you to encourage you that in the wilderness season of life and ministry that you go through, God is also watching over you. He's protecting you in ways you can't see. And it helps to remember that. Richard Wormbrand is one of my great heroes, a pastor in communist Romania for 14 years, who was tortured in prison for his faith, founded a wonderful ministry after he was released. You can read all about him.

I'll just tell you one thing of all the things he suffered. What is the most bizarre, and I think maybe the most terrible, was a three-year period because it was 14 years that he was being tortured in prison for his faith in Jesus. I think the most terrible way, maybe I don't know, but one of the worst things, surely, would be this three-year period of solitary confinement. Solitary confinement. He's put 12 feet underground in a prison. The room has no windows.

there's no light, there's not even sound, the guards wore felt on their shoes to maximize the silence, maximize the sense of isolation. I can't imagine that. I have no categories for that, you know. In the voice of the martyrs, you can watch, so this is a film. You can, I think there's clips on YouTube. You could look it up. You can watch Wormbrandt speak realistically of the pain of that. But he also gives a testimony to God's protection over him. And his, his near, and he talks about having intimacy with Christ. He says the bride was in the embraces of the heavenly bridegroom. It's wonderful. It's beautiful. And it's just this image of like you're in a literal prison. You're in the worst of the wilderness season and yet God is right there with you. And you see that

with Elijah and we know that because of the gospel. And that's true in our lives. And I think we need to remember that. You know, the hard part is saying that to your own heart. You might know that intellectually, but you have to say in those wilderness seasons of life, when you're tempted to say, God has forgotten me, there's no purpose to this, you have to speak back the truths of the gospel that we know and say, no, God is using this season and he's watching over me. I'll put it quite vividly. His angels are hovering around you if you've trusted in Jesus.

That's Psalm 91, I think. He is protecting you. He is watching over you. You can't see it. Sometimes you can't feel it, but it's true. And we know that because of Jesus. Jesus, when he went to the cross, he went to the ultimate sort of wilderness, that ultimate experience of loneliness and isolation and confusion when he bore our sins.

So that's the measure of God's love for us. And so we know when we go through our own wilderness seasons, whatever else is happening, God has not abandoned you. He's watching over you. Every hair on your head is counted. says Matthew 10. Every day of your life is written out, says Psalm 139. Every tear you cry is collected in his bottle, says Psalm 56.

So God is protecting you. Secondly, he preserves us. He provides for us in the wilderness. You see this with Elijah through two different means. The ravens, and then the jug in the jar not running out. The ravens never miss a day. They come every single morning, every single evening. They bring meat.

and then after this, he goes up to Zarifath, and you can imagine him ready to collapse after an 80-mile journey north, he sees a widow collecting sticks, asks her for help, and she says, as the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug, and now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and for my son, that we may eat it and die. This is, don't, you know, we can't rush past this too fast. Just imagine. So apparently the farming in Xerapheth is just as bad as it is down in Israel. No rain for a couple years, things go bad. Think of the beginning of the movie Interstellar, where, you know, the world is sort of on its last legs, you know, rations are running low and so forth, and they're trying to prolong the inevitable and so forth. And this is this widow, she's on her last meal, and you just think of the incredible timing of you're going to get help from someone and they're ready to die themselves. But he says, not to fear. Verse 14, Elijah says, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel,

the jar of flour shall not be spent and the jug of oil shall not be empty until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth. And then God miraculously sustains the jug and the jar so they never run out of food to eat every day. Between the ravens and the jug and the jar, God provides for Elijah and for the Gentile widow and her son. And I love these as images of God's provision. Because what this means is Elijah cannot stockpile resources. They come daily. You know, every time he's pouring from the jug in the jar, it looks like it's on its last legs. But so Elijah has to live in continual trust in the Lord, continual vulnerability. He has to trust those ravens are going to come back tomorrow. The jug and the jar will not run low. And this is what I think it looks,

it often feels like to trust in God's provision in the wilderness. I have had many times where I'm going through a season in ministry where every morning as I walk out the door, what my wife says to me is the jug and the jar won't run out today. Because these images are for us, it's like just a part. I'm preaching these two sermons because I thought I want to do something to encourage people. And these two passages in scripture have encouraged and sustained me more than anything. We talk like this all the time. The jug and the jar won't run out. It's a great image for how the Lord provides for us and preserves us in wilderness seasons. The other things you'll say is look for the ravens. And I love that because that's so true. God will send those ravens, but they're easy to overlook. The hard part is recognizing them for what

they are. Because a lot of times God's provision comes in ways that are humbling. and they're not grandiose. Thomas Chisholm provides a great testimony of the provision of God. He lived a very long life. He was born in a log cabin in Kentucky in 1866, the year after Abraham Lincoln was shot. He died in 1960, one year before John F. Kennedy became president. But all throughout his long life, he had health struggles, and sometimes he moved from one job to the next, and he struggled to make ends meet.

You'd probably never heard of him if he hadn't written these words. Great is thy faithfulness, greatest thy faithfulness, morning by morning, new mercies I see. All I have needed, thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me. He wrote many hymns, and some were inspired by other dramatic things in his life. But Chisholm wrote this hymn in a very uneventful way. Basically, he sat down one day in his life, thought through, amidst all the uncertainties of life how God had provided for him.

And these words came into his heart. And I love the words, morning by morning, new mercies. I see. It's just a great image of what you see with the ravens and the jug and the jar. And this is true for every single one who follows Jesus when you're in the wilderness,

God is going to provide for you. He's going to take care of you. He knows your needs. He's your father who cares for you. He's watching over you. As you seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, he will provide for your needs. That's the promise.

of Matthew 633, the jug and the jar will not run out. I find that the hard part is we have to be intentional to notice God's provision in our lives. It's easy to overlook or even despise the package in which God's provision comes. Ravens, for example, are not the ideal way to receive food. Ravens are scavengers. They eat dead meat or even rotting meat. They're ceremonially unclean in the law. They're often associated with death, like in the Edgar Allan Poe poem called the Raven. In Chapter 19, Elijah is going to get food through an angel. You know, you can imagine Elijah saying, ravens, you know, and yet, that is God's appointed means. God uses ravens. And we need humility to recognize God's provision in our lives. It's easy to overlook. You know,

you get an encouraging note from a friend. What do you do with it? Do you know that that's a raven from God? Do you see it for what it is? Do you thank the Lord for it? Do you dismiss it and brush it off? Or do you allow it to land upon your heart when there's financial provision that's unexpected? See God's provision in that, you know? My wife and I have developed this habit of doing stones of remembrance.

It's been far more edifying than I thought it would be twice a year. On January 1st, at the new year, and then on July 7th, our wedding anniversary. three, about halfway through the year, we just pause and journal about all the ways that we've seen God's provision since we last wrote in there. And since we had five kids, we've missed a couple because life has been crazy. Hence my so happy to be in Tennessee and trying to simplify and slow down a little. But whenever we do this, two things always stand out to me when this happens. Number one, how long the list is. And number two, how easy it is to overlook those things. through which God provides.

And so often we just fail to notice God's provision. When you're in the wilderness, so many things will be trying to tell you God has forsaken you. You have to look at the ravens. You have to see God's provision. And that tells you the true story that God is caring for you and He has plans for you. But lastly and thirdly, all of this is good. I mean, I hope it's encouraging, but it's not enough. Because if God is just protecting and preserving Elijah,

Elijah might still wonder, well, why am I out here to begin with? What is the purpose of all this? And the happy thing is that God is preparing Elijah and he uses wilderness seasons to prepare us for what he has ahead for us. Again, it's the First King 17 before the First King's 18. I will put it this strongly. I believe this. if we could see how productive the wilderness seasons that God leads us through our inner lives, we would rejoice in them. So to speak, we would kiss the sand and leap for joy. Because what God does through that, think of it like this. How did Elijah have so much faith at Mount Carmel?

How did one man stand up against the whole nation? He put everything on the line, all the prophets of Bail he goes toe to toe with. It's incredible. Where did that courage come from? I suspect that seeing God's daily provision for three and a half years helped prepare him for the purposes that God had for him and chiseled his character like a diamond, you know? The jug in the jar prepared for the fire from heaven. First King 17 prepares for First Kings 18. I'll never forget reading a biography of Winston Churchill, and Paul Johnson, I think, his really good, shorter biography.

And he gets to the night when Churchill found out that he was becoming prime minister. Okay, it's 1940. The Nazis are sweeping through Western Europe toward Great Britain, very little resistance in France. It's at that point where it seems, you know, it's very far from clear that they can be stopped. you might say that this is the most challenging leadership scenario imaginable to step into, and Churchill had had a pretty spotty career so far. He'd made mistakes. Nonetheless, when he got the news that he had been voted in, he wrote these words, I was conscious of a profound sense of relief. I felt as if I were walking with destiny and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial, although impatient for the morning. I slept sound

and had not need for cheering dreams, facts are better than dreams. That passage is moving to me. When I first read it, it was moving. Every time I read it now, it moves me. Leave room for a little bit of embellishment, maybe on his part. Nonetheless, do you hear what he's saying? He's saying, I was relieved. This was destiny. This is my calling. Everything's been gearing toward this. This is my life purpose. I can't wait to get started. I'm impatient for the morning. He's not fearful. He wants to dive in. You know, the Nazis are pounding on the door, and he's goes to sleep and he's sleeping soundly. And the image is like, I was born for this, you know, and the encouragement for you and for me is, as we persevere through the wilderness seasons of

life, we will eventually arrive upon the joy of those seasons that we were born for, that all our lives have been preparing us for. And so God doesn't lead us out into the wilderness for nothing. Don't give up in 1st King 17. You don't know what God is preparing. you for. You may not see it in this life. I'm not trying to say it's always going to be, I always try to steer clear of false expectations or anything that comes close to like a health and wealth thing. I'm not saying it's going to be, you know, there'll be a neat bow every time that you can tie around it. But I am saying this, God will be faithful to his purposes in your life. And it's worth it to keep following him and to not give up. You don't know what might be ahead of you.

It those wilderness seasons feel so random and they feel like it's the end of your story but actually it's God's design to move you forward. So as we finish off the video and you'll click off and go on to your day, maybe what are some things to walk away with? Maybe we think of Richard Wormbrand seeking intimacy with God in the wilderness. We need to remember he's our father. He's protecting us. He's with us.

Maybe we think of Thomas Chisham and his recognition of God's provision and we need to say, Lord, what are those ravens? Help me to recognize them for what they are. Maybe we think of Churchill and we're thinking, Lord, help me to know, you have purposes for me. You have things that you're leading me towards and I need to be faithful in the meantime. Here's a final image. My favorite of the Narnia books is the horse and his boy. There's a young character named Shasta. My favorite scene in all the books comes in this one. And it's when he's alone at night. He's had terrible luck. He's been abandoned by all his friends. Everything in his life is telling him that he's forsaken. Everything makes it feel like his life is a waste and he's all alone. And it says that he's so tired

that he feels so sorry for himself that the tears rolled down his cheeks. But then he's suddenly afraid because he hears this breathing. There's this person next to him. He can't tell what it is. Condensing a long story and a beautifully told story, he basically has this encounter with Aslan, who's the Christ figure. And he's terrified of him. But Aslan says, tell me your sorrows. And he tells him his whole story. And he says, I never knew my real father. I had to run away from home.

I've been attacked. You know, all these misfortunes have happened. And a lot of them had to do with lions. And the large voices, I was the lion. And he goes back through Shasta's life. And he explains each episode, according to his purpose. And he says, I was the lion who led you in this way. I was the one working in this way.

And he helps him piece it all together. I love that scene. It's like an image of what it. It'll be like when you get to heaven if you follow Jesus throughout this life. And God gives you his divine perspective for your suffering, and it all has purpose. It all makes sense. Not one piece of suffering was wasted. Not one thing you went through was random or an accident or meant you had fallen off the grid.

God was at work through it all. And this is something I think we just need to remember in the meantime. When we're in a wilderness season, God is at work. He's protecting you, preserving you, and have. He is preparing you, so don't give up. First King's 17 is not the end of the story. I'm going to say a prayer, and then I'll just say, well, I don't want to, it's a weird to pray over the camera. I don't usually do sermons as videos.

I'll just say, Father, bless every person who watches this video, give them strength to persevere in faithfulness to you, whatever season they are going through. So another video on First Kings 19 will come out in a few days. Subscribe to my channel if you want to stay in touch. And if you'd like to support Truth Unites, I keep forgetting to say this, but I'm trying to build a base of support as I seek to steward the ministry God has given to me. The way I always say it is if it would be a source of joy for you, and only in that circumstance. I would love to invite you to partner with me and support Truth Unites.

You can see how to do that on the screen, and there'll be a link in the video description below. May the Lord bless you. See you next time in the next video. First Kings 19, seasons of discouragement coming out in a few days.