Are You In the Wilderness?

Many people are in the wilderness right now. Jobs have been lost and incomes cut off with no optimism in site. When you read about and listen to the country as a whole, the weight of the world can pile drive you deep into despair.

So what is the answer? Do we wait on the government to fix our problems and restore America to its hallowed position in the world? Certainly, the President and Congress need to address many system problems but the long term solution must come from American citizens. This means looking at how we have been living. What has been our focus? Have we been living according to God's standards or the world's standards? I fear the latter.

I have struggled in the wilderness and at times agonize over what to do and when to do it. Through prayer and talks with others, I left with a simple thought-Go back to the Bible for guidance. I did and was reminded of the following. I hope this helps you. Please forward this post to friends or colleagues wandering aimlessly in the wilderness.

It is the story of Moses and the deliverance of God's chosen people from captivity. It is all about wilderness living and making changes to exit the wilderness.

Through Moses, God informs the Israelis that he will free them from captivity and deliver them to a promised land. We all know the story of Moses' interactions with Pharaoh and the resulting plagues. As the plagues progressed, Pharaoh turned up the heat on the Israelis. He made them work harder. Their working conditions worsened. What they had grown accustomed to was being significantly altered and they became, at times, frustrated with Moses for upsetting their lives.

Well, God won and the people were freed from captivity and entered a whole new arena-the wilderness. Their lives were radically altered and they were frustrated and afraid. They were hungry not just for food but for answers to what would happen next. God was constantly speaking to them through Moses but often to no avail as many began to act according to their will and not God's.

God was clear. They were freed from bondage in order to live in a land of milk and honey. What an incredible gift and extraordinary change of events for a group that only knew hard work and the expectations of task masters. To enter the promised land, God only asked that they live according to his standards without fail.

As a whole, the people failed to live to God's standards. Thus, God kept them in the wilderness for forty years. Even Moses failed to steadfastly follow God's commands and was not allowed to cross the river into the new land. It was not until a new generation arose did God take the people to the outskirts of the promised land. Moses dies and God transfers leadership to Joshua.

In the first part of the book of Joshua, God commissions Joshua to lead the people into the promised land. It is here where we can take away much for our lives.

The entire nation was camped at the banks of the Jordan river and they could see across to the beautiful land that awaited their occupation. God tells Joshua several key words of encouragement:
1. Be strong
2. Be of good courage
3. Know that God never forsakes us
4. Follow God's written word. Do not turn to the right or left as you follow the words of the Bible.

I had coffee with a friend the other day and we talked about what this story teaches us. He brilliantly stated that we must spend time in the wilderness to build our internal strength. God knows how much strength we need and he will not let us linger longer than we need to. We need to be strong for as we exit the wilderness, strong forces will seek to defeat and discourage us just as they did to God's people as they entered the promised land.

So the take aways I offer to you are:
1. Be strong and of good courage
2. Pray diligently and read the Bible often
3. Know that God never forsakes you. He is always by your side and his love for you is unconditional
4. Our time in the wilderness makes us stronger and more prepared to handle where God places us next.