"The Pain and Gain of Exile" (Deut 8:1-18)

It's in seasons of wilderness and suffering that God reveals most clearly the "real" you--good, bad, and ugly.  But it's also in the wilderness that he reveals himself most clearly--near, generous, and faithful.  In seasons of our lives when resources seem the most scarce, faith the most faint, and God the most distant He is actually up to some of his most powerful work.  And most importantly of all, Jesus' successful testing and training in the wilderness makes the wilderness not a place of failure for us--but a place of fruitful formation.