Flourishing in the Desert
When we were in Kenya, Africa last year, we visited an orphanage. The family that runs it are really great people. The father gave up his prestigious job of teaching at a university to start the orphanage. Now he and his grown children have about 200 acres of land, and they take care of around 500 children. Their place is beautiful, the kids are happy, and they've got a first-class school.
I was talking to him about their funding and how they raise support. He told me they were self-sufficient. They farm the land in order to provide food for the children. In fact, they've been so successful that they sell some of the produce to the local grocery store. They bought a nice tractor, and when they're not using it, they rent it out to help others. He said to me, "Joel, the funny thing is that when we bought this property, we were told we couldn't produce any crops, the soil was not good enough, there wasn't enough rain, and we would never be able to sustain ourselves off of this land."
In fact, that's the case all around them. For miles and miles, people can't grow any crops. Experts have come over to their property to try to figure out what is different about their land. The university came out, took soil samples and ran tests. They cannot understand how their soil can be so rich and fertile and right next door the soil is totally different. He smiled and said, "That's the blessing of God."
He is exactly right! In Deuteronomy 28, God commands it. When you walk in obedience to Him, wherever you go, the blessing goes. You can be in a dry and barren place, but when God commands that blessing on your life, you will flourish even if you're out in the middle of a desert.
I was talking to him about their funding and how they raise support. He told me they were self-sufficient. They farm the land in order to provide food for the children. In fact, they've been so successful that they sell some of the produce to the local grocery store. They bought a nice tractor, and when they're not using it, they rent it out to help others. He said to me, "Joel, the funny thing is that when we bought this property, we were told we couldn't produce any crops, the soil was not good enough, there wasn't enough rain, and we would never be able to sustain ourselves off of this land."
In fact, that's the case all around them. For miles and miles, people can't grow any crops. Experts have come over to their property to try to figure out what is different about their land. The university came out, took soil samples and ran tests. They cannot understand how their soil can be so rich and fertile and right next door the soil is totally different. He smiled and said, "That's the blessing of God."
He is exactly right! In Deuteronomy 28, God commands it. When you walk in obedience to Him, wherever you go, the blessing goes. You can be in a dry and barren place, but when God commands that blessing on your life, you will flourish even if you're out in the middle of a desert.