Before the Land of Plenty

Jeremiah 2:7
“And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.”

In the verse above, God reminded Israel that He was the One who brought them into the Promised Land, a land of plenty. He reminded them that in this plentiful country, they were able to enjoy the fruit of the land and to experience God’s blessings. However, before they were able to experience the land of plenty, they had to leave the land of Egypt, endure the wilderness, deal with the deserts and pits, suffer times of drought, and encounter the valley of death. In other words, they had to endure hard times before they could enjoy the land of plenty.

Too many believers want the blessing without paying the  price of those blessings. Young preachers want the conference pulpit without paying the price to build something before they enjoy the pulpit. Young adults want to enjoy the blessings that they see their parents enjoy without paying the price that their parent’s paid to get those blessings. Before you can ever enjoy the land of plenty, you are going to have to endure the wilderness, deserts, pits, times of drought, and face the valley of death. Let me share a few observations about the land of plenty.

First, you can never experience the LORD’s blessings by staying in the world. The children of Israel had to leave Egypt before they enjoyed the Promised Land. You cannot live in the world and enjoy the blessing of God at the same time. It may seem easier to stay in the land of Egypt, but you will never get to the Promised Land of plenty without leaving Egypt. The gain that comes from living in the world pales in comparison to the blessings that come from living in God’s will. Yes, you will have to endure the wilderness before the land of plenty, but coming out of the world to get to the land of plenty is worth the price it takes to get there.

Second, before the Promised Land is a wilderness of trials. It would be negligent on my part to say that you can enjoy the land of plenty without a wilderness of trials. You can’t get to the land of plenty without a wilderness to travel through, and without enduring the dry desert where it seems like you are going to die. God never said that He would make it easy for you once you leave the world, but He has promised to walk with you through your wilderness before you get to the land of plenty. Every trial you face and every pit you find yourself enduring are all part of God’s journey to His land of plenty. Yes, you are going to find times when you feel like you are going to die, but just because you are walking through a valley where death’s shadow may be doesn’t mean you are going to die. Always remember that there must be light for a shadow to appear. If death has cast its shadow on your life in the wilderness, it only means that it has tried to take your attention off the focus of the light that is traveling with you through your valley.

Third, if you quit while in the wilderness, you will miss the blessings of the Promised Land. My friend, don’t quit before you get to the land of plenty. Israel would have never enjoyed the Promised Land had they stopped in the wilderness or if they went back to Egypt. I know that quitting may seem like the easy way out, but quitting will keep you from knowing what blessings God has for you in His land of plenty. No matter what you are facing today in your wilderness, let me encourage you to keep going; the land of plenty will come.

Author: Allen Domelle