If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.
* * * * *
It really doesn’t matter where we are in the journey – at the beginning, the midpoint or the end. God uses it all! As a matter of fact, He assures us that what He begins, He completes(1) – and He ultimately works through all things for our good and His glory(2) – even when we can’t see it, or fathom how that could be the case.
The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years. As a matter of fact, it had been 430 years to the day. If you recall, God led them into Egypt. He sent Joseph, son of Jacob, ahead to prepare for their arrival by using for good that which his brothers had intended for evil.(3) Now, 430 years later, the Lord was leading His people to embark on a journey to the land that He had promised their patriarch Abraham; a journey that would lead through the wilderness.(4)
For centuries they had cried out to God for deliverance. This generation had known of no life other than the bondage of Egypt. They had heard about the promises that God had given to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they could not imagine that life was ever going to be different. But, on that day, they left behind all the encumbrances they had known and walked away from their slavery. God had finally answered their prayer and was delivering them from Egypt. As they began the journey, they did so with a huge degree of relief – their bondage was finally over.
But they also began the journey with some reservation. As difficult as their years in Egypt had been, it was all they had ever known. Today they were venturing out into the unknown. They had no idea what to expect or what they would encounter. At least, as long as they were in Egypt, they were assured of food, shelter, and the protection of the most powerful nation on earth at the time. Now as they stepped out into the wilderness, they had no idea where they would find food or shelter, or what enemies they might encounter.
Some of the Israelites had built close relationships with some of the Egyptian people. Not everyone had mistreated or abused them; some of the people had befriended them. And as they began, though there was a relief over their freedom, there was also a regret over friends that would never again be seen. Each step into their journey took them further away from friends that they loved.
But there was also an excitement and expectancy. This day that they had prayed for, that they had cried out for, and that they had longed for, was finally here – and they relished what most certainly was ahead in their journey. What would this land flowing with milk and honey, as Moses had described it, be like? What opportunities existed for them and their sons and daughters without the threat of the overseers’ whips on their backs? The investment of the sweat of their brow would now be for their own behalf and not for the benefit of their Egyptian overlords.
Yes, as they began the journey, they did so with that mixture of relief, reservation, regret and relish. They saw all of the ways that they would benefit from this journey; they saw all the ways that the journey would impact their lives. There was only one problem – they were looking through their own eyes. They were looking at it as a journey that would lead them from Egypt and their escape from slavery, not as a journey that would lead them to encounter God and His person.
God wasn’t leading them to bring them from a place; He was leading them to bring them to Himself. God was bringing them on a journey that would bring them to a place that would enable them to know Him, know Him more and know Him more intimately. In that journey, He would lead them through the wilderness, because there are certain things we are only able to learn in the wilderness. There would be times on the journey that He would teach them as a part of the crowd, because there are some things that God teaches us when we are part of a crowd. But there would be other times when they would be alone with God, because there are some things we can only learn once we get alone with Him.
God made sure that they had everything from Egypt that was necessary for the journey. They didn’t have everything they would need; God would take care of that along the way. But He made sure that they had everything that they needed from Egypt. And they would see how God had planned all of this long before they had any idea.
But one more observation – they traveled on foot. It wasn’t going to be a fast journey, and it wasn’t going to be a short journey. God’s journeys are designed to accomplish all He intends. God is not as concerned with the quantity of time, as He is with the quality of the work He accomplishes in us through the journey.
No matter where we are in the journey – the beginning, the middle or the end – we must follow Him! We must walk in obedience with Him knowing we will arrive at our destination at the exact moment He intends – and not before!
Yes, the Israelites’ journey had begun. It was a journey that God would use to impact their lives; but it was also a journey that God would use to impact the world through them. That’s how God’s journeys are. And we can walk in that same confidence that whatever journey we are on, through whatever wilderness we are walking, He will use it to transform our lives and to impact the world around us.
Trust Him, no matter where you are in the journey. He will use the beginning, the middle, and the end of the journey to bring glory to His name!
* * * * *
This post is adapted from The Journey Begins chapter 4, entitled “The Journey Begins.” This first book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print or for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy of the book.
* * * * *
(1) Philippians 1:6
(2) Romans 8:28
(3) Genesis 50:20
(4) Exodus 12:51, 34-38 (NLT)
And that very day the LORD began to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, division by division. The Israelites took with them their bread dough made without yeast. They wrapped their kneading bowls in their spare clothing and carried them on their shoulders. And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed and asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold. The LORD caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for…. That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, plus all the women and children. And they were all traveling on foot.
Copyright © 2022 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
Photo by Austin Ban on Unsplash