“The LORD spoke…in the wilderness…” Numbers 1:1a
I’m excited to begin a new Bible Study on the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt. I’ve never studied their rescue and journey through the words of the Book of Numbers because it begins with census records. Name upon name, birth upon birth, relation upon relation does not read for plot building and context. But I will trust Lauren Chandler, author of With Us in the Wilderness as she relates it to her on wilderness. Her pastor husband was diagnosed years ago with a brain tumor that came with a grim prognosis. The Lord gave them victory and healing but gave them an even greater treasure… ‘a deeper trust in clinging to the Lord and His cross during this appointed season of valleys and storms.’ Introduction, p. 1. At the back of the study is a map of the area that is based on rescuing the Israelites from Egypt and delivering them to Canaan, the Promised Land. I was struck again this morning by the direction God took them. The most direct route would have taken only 11 days to reach their destination but for various reasons, God took them around the peripheral of the wilderness which was a 40-year trek.
I am sure that I am not the only one who is living out a peripheral journey around a promise God has given. God can do anything…any way…at any time…and as far as I can see, the fulfillment of the promise He gave me should only take 11 days, and yet I have walked 16 years around the promise with no destination in sight. But what I can say without a doubt is that I have never walked alone. God has shown me things in the wilderness about both Himself and myself. He has taught me how to sense His presence…see His movement…recognize His ways. Just like with the Israelites He has kept His presence very close to me. Just like the Israelites I have grumbled…I have been frustrated…I have been devastated…I have been impatient. I have changed in ways that only God could have produced through this journey. If I am not at my destination of promise then I am still being prepared for received it. However, at some point, He has become enough for me without seeing the destination up ahead. In the wilderness, we develop an intimate knowledge of Him. In the wilderness we grow into Him and out of ourselves. In the wilderness, we see the wonders and marvels that enlarges our faith and builds our confidence in His complete provisions. I love the quote from J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Fellowship of the Ring, ‘Not all who wander are lost.’
No matter how lost you feel you are right where God has placed you, and His desire is to become your God. He has a furious longing to be our everything and has all the time in the world to wait on our desire to turn to Him.
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