Have you ever felt like you were wandering around in the wilderness?
I mean, have you ever been unsure of what you are doing? Have you ever come off a “clear season” into a “foggy one”? Have you ever gone from knowing exactly where you are suppose to be doing, into a time of waiting, questioning, or wandering?
Maybe, you have been trying to look forward, but your mind wanders to the past. I don’t know about you, but I am guilty of this.
I began to think of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt. I used to criticize the Israelites. Then I realized, I was doing the same thing they were.
I tried to picture the conversation they may have had…
Israelite #1: Can you believe this?
Israelite #2: No. I don’t even have words most days. My wife asks me all the time if we can go back
Israelite #1: Mine too. I felt like someone in Egypt. I felt like we had a purpose. I felt like, even with the slavery, we were following our ancestors
Israelite #2: Yeah, and now, we are wandering around a desert with nothing to do
I began to picture how they might feel. They had “purpose” in Egypt, although they were slaves. He could look around and point to one pyramid and say, “I helped build that” or “My dad worked on that one”. They had a rich heritage; yet, the Israelites had been in bondage.
They went from working with their hands to wandering with their feet. It was uncomfortable. It was not what they were familiar with. They had nothing to show for themselves. It seemed like resources were more available in Egypt. Yet, God always made provisions in the desert.
They become comfortable in seeing God provide through the Egyptians. God wanted them to be content with Him providing.
We have to remember (I am speaking to myself) that life with God is a journey.
We will not always have the answers to our every question. But, we will always have Him.
My life will not be the same as your life. Your life will not be the same as mine. We are each unique in our gifts, personalities, thought patterns, and behaviors.
God who knows exactly what we need. In Psalm 86:11 it says, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless”
God knows what is best for each of His children. We need to stand our ground on His Character. Although you or I may not know what is going on, He does. We can trust Him. The one who parted the Red Sea for us to leave Egypt, is the same God who can walk on the sea to rescue us in our storm. He is the same God who can bring water out of a rock. He is the same God who can take five loaves and three fish and feed multitude. He is able. We (me, primarily) need to trust His abilities and not our own.
Maybe, God saw that we trusted ourselves too much. Maybe, He saw that we were trusting in other men too much. Maybe, He wanted us to grow more in our walk with Him. Maybe, the only way to do hat was by leading us out of “Our Egypt”. I don’t know, but God does.
My prayer is that I can continue to trust and seek as the answers don’t seem to come. Or, are not the ones I expected. God is faithful. God is true. God knows what He is doing.
