When I planted Preaching Christ Church in 2001, I had just turned 20 years old. I only had the support of a few close friends. However, I knew that God had called me to this task at this exact time. One of the scriptures God gave me in those early years was Isaiah 32:15, “until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.” So I stepped out in faith, without a church building, without any financial backing, and with a congregation of less than ten people. All I had was the promise of God that what was a wilderness would one day become a fruitful field and would someday be deemed a forest.
I think the same principle holds true in our personal lives. Perhaps you can look back over the years and see how an area of your life was once barren like a wilderness, but now because of God’s blessings it feels more like a fruitful field. I am thankful to the Lord for the growth He’s brought into my life. I am thankful that while nothing was handed to me, I have seen God’s ability to grow something out of nothing. Perhaps today you are in a wilderness. I want to encourage you to pay attention to this scripture, because there is a key phrase that makes all the difference.
Note the beginning phrase of this verse, for it is the most important. It says, “until the Spirit is poured out from on high…” So often we chase success, whether it is in family, business, or even in spiritual matters. We have an idea of what success looks like to us, and we begin to pursue it. In reality, only the Holy Spirit can bring true success. He alone can bring the kind of blessings that can turn a wilderness into a fruitful field, and later into a forest. If we try to build our lives on our own success, we will fall short of what God has planned for our future. Do you view the Holy Spirit and His involvement in your life as the most important factor to your future’s success?
When I stepped out in faith in my early 20’s, I didn’t have hardly anything except faith and the promises of God. Today, hundreds of people call Preaching Christ Church home. In those early years, we couldn’t even break twenty. As I look back to not only the growth of the church, but the wife, children, and home that God has given me, I can truly say the Holy Spirit has made the difference, and what was a barren wilderness is today a fruitful field, and by God’s grace tomorrow will be deemed a forest.
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