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The wilderness is that place – or more accurately those places – in our lives, where we are outside of our comfort zone. The wilderness is a place that is unfamiliar and, most often, uncomfortable. It is rarely, if ever, our final destination; rather, it is that place through which we must pass in order to get to the other side.
Sometimes we venture out into the wilderness willingly, because we know that the pathway to our desired destination leads through it. It could be the circumstances surrounding a move from one place to another, or the unknowns of moving from one position to another. Though we entered into the wilderness expectantly, and more than likely excitedly, we still encounter the unexpected twists and turns of the wilderness along the way. But more often, we enter into a wilderness involuntarily – either through the onslaught of a severe health issue, the loss of someone near and dear, the unexpected loss of a job, or the like. We didn’t volunteer for this journey, and we don’t like it one bit!
There are a number of pathways that can lead us into a wilderness, but there is only one that will enable us to walk through it with assurance and confidence. It is the pathway that unfolds as we walk hand-in-hand with God. Sometimes He is the One who has clearly led us into the wilderness. Such was the case for me and my family during the time period in which He led me to write the book from which this post is taken.
But more often, He is not the initiator. The journey has been brought on by our own choice, or by circumstances beyond our control. It is in those situations that we must pay heed to the truth that our God is sovereign over all things. And though we can seldom imagine why He would have permitted this wilderness experience in our lives, we must hold onto Him tightly in the knowledge that He is the only One who can enable us to walk through it with peace, assurance and confidence.
In the third chapter of Exodus, we see God inviting Moses to join with Him in what He is about to do.(1) He invited Moses to be the one through whom He led His people out of the slavery of Egypt and through the wilderness to the Promised Land. The exchange that took place between Jehovah God and Moses at the burning bush is one to which we need to pay heed regardless of the circumstances that brought us to our wilderness journey.
One of the first questions we often ask God when we are embarking on a journey into the wilderness – or find ourselves in its midst – is, “LORD, are You sure You know what You are doing?” In the case of Moses, God had heard the cries of His people and He was preparing to not only deliver them from their bondage; He was also preparing to do a new work in and through them. He was not only going to rescue them; He was also going to lead them out. And in that process, He was also going to do a deeper work in the life of Moses.
Most often, we want God to rescue us and get us out of the wilderness as quickly as He can. Rarely do we give a thought to the deeper work He intends to do in our lives … according to His timetable … and trust Him to do so.
Moses had already demonstrated an alertness to the activity of God. The very fact that he approached that burning bush and was standing where he was, listening to the voice of God demonstrates a willingness to hear and heed God’s voice. But even he struggled with what God was saying to him.
Moses had lived the first forty years of his life in Pharaoh’s palace. He had enjoyed the good life of Egypt. He had seen the oppression of the people; and his own attempts to rescue them from their oppression had led him to murder an Egyptian and live as a fugitive from Egyptian justice for the next forty years of his life. But the voice he was now listening to was Jehovah God. Couldn’t He deliver the Israelites from slavery but still allow them to stay in Egypt and enjoy the milk and honey there? i mean, this was God … He can do anything!
Let’s just skip the wilderness! Why not supernaturally enable the Israelites and the Egyptians to change places? God could have easily placed the Israelites in the position of ruling over the Egyptians. No one would have needed to enter into the wilderness … as a matter of fact, no one would have needed to travel anywhere! Moses could avoid the trip back to Pharaoh and the people could avoid the journey. They wouldn’t have to deal with the hazards of the wilderness or the giants in the Promised Land. It sounds like a great plan to me! Besides, what did the Promised Land have to offer that God couldn’t make available in Egypt? And just think of all the personal aggravation that Moses would have been able to avoid!
We all resist taking the journey. Whether our current surroundings are idyllic or intolerable, we are comfortable right where we are. It’s the wilderness we don’t want to have anything to do with. He knows our propensity to want to stay where we are. We would much prefer that God eliminate the wilderness. But He has a plan – even in the midst of the wilderness – and He loves us too much to leave us where we are!
Often as we struggle with the thought of what God is asking us to do – or what He is permitting us to experience – we lose sight of the same thing Moses lost sight of – God is going with us. As a matter of fact, He will go before us and lead us through. He is extending an invitation to us to join Him, to follow Him and to journey with Him. He has promised to take us all the way through. Yes, the journey’s path is through the wilderness; but isn’t He Lord over the wilderness as well?
If God has extended His invitation to you to join Him in a wilderness journey, trust Him to lead you through and lead you all the way. Because yes, He is sure. And because He is, we too can be sure!
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You can read the account of Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush in the Book of Exodus, chapter 3.
This post is taken from chapter 3 of my book, The Journey Begins. For more information about the book, click here.
(1) Exodus 3:7-11 (NLT)
Then the LORD told him, "You can be sure I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries for deliverance from their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come to rescue them from the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own good and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey--the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites live. The cries of the people of Israel have reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians have oppressed them with heavy tasks. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You will lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." "But who am I to appear before Pharaoh?" Moses asked God. "How can you expect me to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?"
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