In the Wilderness – Little by Little Faith
Is there really a purpose for the wilderness that so many of us find ourselves in. When we followed God out of Egypt wasn’t it to be free and always experience that freedom? I suppose this might have been the questions that was causing havoc in so many of the minds of the children of Israel.
And also for us today we often wonder why do we find ourselves in the Wilderness. Where is this promised land that we thought we were moving to.
What happens in the wilderness? God brought His people to Mount Sinai to teach them Who He is. To show them how to serve Him. To break down their enslaved mindsets and to show them how to conduct their lives within the freedom that they have now been delivered into. He shows them Who He is and gives them the promises of how He will lead them and protect them if they walk in His ways and follow His voice.
Here they learn to serve Him out of choice and not enslavement. And they learn to trust Him as their God.
Here they are called to become His children and to put their faith in Him so that they will be able to conquer their enemies and stand against opposition and finally inherit the land which they were called to inherit
God gives them the promise of His protection and warns them not to follow their own desires and ways. Not to be mislead by the gods of others but to become His people so that He can be their God.
Ex 23:20
“I send an angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
Obey His voice for My name is in Him, My angel will go before you
Do not bow down to their gods
You shall not serve them or do according to their works
But overthrow them and break down their sacred pillars
So you shall serve the Lord your God and He will bless your bread and water
And I will take sickness away from the midst of you
I will send my fear before you”
He also gives them a very important message to hold unto so that they do not become discontent or down cast and desert Him when they do not immediately see their deliverance.
“I will not drive out your enemy before you in one year lest the land become desolate and the beast of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you until you have increased and you inherit the land”
God calls us to have a faith with patience. When we receive the promise of God most of the time we want to inherit it all at once.
We do not understand why God doesn’t open up all the doors and clear the path for us all at once.
We need to learn to trust His timing. To understand that He knows more than we do
Do not follow other gods or make your own plans when you feel that God is moving too slow.
Keep believing in His timing and follow His pace to bring you into the fullness of what He has prepared for you.
Can you be content? Can you trust that the Father knows the beginning and the end. Can you keep on following Him even if it feels like it is only Wilderness out here.
Use this time to discover Him. To hear His voice and to learn how He wants you to change so that you can be transformed into His image and grow strong enough to rule alongside Him in your promised land.
The wilderness is not a punishment but rather a chance to grow into intimacy and knowledge of the God that delivered you and seeks to have you as His own.