God's Purity in a wilderness

Isaiah 41:19 "I will plant in the wilderness the cedar...."

God promised to plant trees in this wilderness we are in. What is this wilderness? It is a place where we feel destitute and forsaken. It is a place where sin and impurity seem to have the upper hand. Everywhere we look we see chaos and confusion. It also is a place where we feel spiritually dry. People betray one another, lives are taken, and hope is trampled upon. In the midst of this God wants to raise up a standard of holiness. A ruler by which we measure our lives. We are those 'cedar trees' (Holiness) springing up in this wilderness!

The Cedar tree is an evergreen tree. It was used in cleansing and to build the temple. In fact, it was used to build the Holy place. When we think of the cedar tree as an evergreen tree, and we relate it to the idea of holiness, we realize holiness is not a seasonal thing. We don't get to decide when we want to be holy and when we don't want to be holy.

I Peter 2:9 says we are part of the royal priesthood. How are we to rise up and be who God wants us to be? Ps. 92:12-14 says "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing."

We are to be 'planted' in the house of the Lord. We will 'flourish' in God's presence. As we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise, we will see changes in our lives. A thankful spirit protects us against bitterness, discontent, murmuring/complaining, faultfinding, doubt and unbelief. (Col 4:2) Without these things pulling us down we will be able to flourish in a dry and thirsty land.

Finally, as we are planted and flourish, we will 'bear fruit in old age.' Our lives will be a living testimony to those around us. We will bear the fruit of the spirit- peace where there is fear, love where there is hate, joy where there is sadness, faithfulness where there is no more loyality, etc.

God has a standard of holiness and He desires to raise us up as cedar trees all over the world. Why would we want to be stunted in our growth by clinging on to things of the past? Why would we want to hold on to memories, habits or behaviors which are only drying us up internally? Hebrews 12:1 says we are to lay aside any weight or sin which will hold us back from doing what we need to do. We must release ourselves to God and allow Him to do His work within us so that He can raise us up to stand firm in a time of great uncertainity.