The Wilderness

The Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years. An entire generation died, with the exclusion of two, in this wilderness. A generation who was delivered from slavery firsthand by God himself, died before reaching Canaan, the Promised Land. What should have taken 40 days, took 40 years, to complete the travel, but the spirit of ungratefulness coupled with the forgetfulness of the glory of God and His faithfulness and their disobedience, this generation did not make it. It was in fact their children and children’s children who indeed was able to experience stepping foot on the promise of God that is the Promised Land. But I cannot help but imagine, how easy it was for them to get distracted and discouraged leading to their own deprivation of experiencing God’s promise. (When I right click the word wilderness, the two terms wasteland and desert appear as synonyms.)

I thought to myself, “How many times have I prayed for deliverance and received it, just to not see it through completion because of how quickly I forgot who saved me to begin with?” How many times have I cried out to God to save me from a situation just to walk back into it later? Oh, the wilderness, so many times has it appeared in scripture as a means for purifying, strengthening, and building one’s faith, but we are never meant to remain there, much less die there. We are always meant to be brought out of the wilderness because it is just a transitional destination to our Promised Land, located between glory and glory.

How long have you been in the wilderness? I know I have been here for a long time; I have begun to name the creatures around me. However, after reading this about the lost generation of Israelites, I have decided to not meet their fate and die here. The Lord has brought me here to be purified and emboldened and I will pray that He continues to lead me onward. During this quarantine, it is easy for all of us to believe that we are all in the wilderness, easy to grow stagnant, yet what are we doing during this time? Are we building our faith? Do we feel we are more emboldened? Or do we feel the same from Day One?

Is there only one wilderness in our lifetime? Absolutely not so why get stuck in one? Let us learn from our spiritual ancestors on what NOT to do: grow complacent and fester a spirit of ungratefulness. Let us remember that the same one who promised us the Promised Land, also delivered us from death’s snare and will get us through the wilderness. Just as many times as we read about the wilderness, God also gives us hope with scriptures of Him turning those dry places into streams of rivers producing life and turning valleys of pain into gateways of hope.

Let us remain encouraged as we walk through the wilderness. Let us not grow comfortable here but take advantage of this time, increasing our faith and taking upon ourselves a spirit of gratefulness. Even if our wilderness is dry because we feel distant from God, the source of flowing water and life, let us remember all He has done reminding ourselves that He has equipped us for this travel, this transition, encouraging us to remain obedient to His ways regardless if we feel Him or not. If the wilderness consists of a series of temptations, like what met Jesus during his time there, let us cover ourselves with the Word of God and be in constant prayer so that we may not enter temptation. Let us remember, He brought us to this wilderness, and He will get us out.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified or dismayed, for the Lord, your God, will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Let’s Share! Click on the book and learn about the wilderness as it relates to scripture. Then share with me what you find!