Last year when I had finished the first draft of my book, I asked my friend Janet to proof it for me. One of the first spelling errors she found was the word “dessert.” In a chapter on Israel’s trek through the Wilderness, I misspelled “desert” as “dessert,” giving the impression Israel had travelled 40 years through layers of chocolate cake. The words desert (arid land) and dessert (something sweet after a meal) are distinguished only by the additional ‘s’ in the latter.
In San Francisco, there is a restaurant called “Just Desserts.” The name is a pun, implying they only serve desserts— just desserts; or, the name suggests you deserve a sweet treat—a just reward.
When you are going through a desert experience, you persuade yourself you don’t “deserve” this—you are receiving an unjust dessert. Be careful. You will hear a little voice from your flesh saying “God is just giving me deserts”—just deserts! Or the opposite—you will say “God must be giving me what I deserve”— this must be my just dessert.
Then you will hear a voice “you deserve to treat yourself.” By rewarding yourself you will gain temporary relief. But do not be overtaken by such wrong thinking. Instead consider Jesus: During His worst desert experience, He focused on the joy of presenting His Father a just dessert (Heb. 12:2). Doesn’t our Heavenly Father deserve the same from us?
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