One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the journey of the Israelites towards the Promised Land. As Christians, we can relate our own experiences to the experiences of the Israelites through their journey in the wilderness. The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years. It was in the wilderness where the people of GOD were put to test in order to learn how to fully trust GOD. Their journey towards the Promised Land could only take few days or months but because of their stubbornness, it took them forty years. It took forty years for them to learn what God wants them to learn.
Like the Israelites, we as children of GOD will also be in the wilderness. Not in the “desert” but in our own personal tribulations and trials in which we die to self and live for Christ. Just as GOD intended the Israelites to be in the wilderness, He also intends us to be in our wilderness. It is in the wilderness that the Israelites have learned who GOD is, and the importance of obeying Him. Our early year of Christian walk is like wandering in the wilderness. It is in the wilderness where we will be refined, tried and tested. It is in the wilderness where we die to self and grow to maturity.
Some people think that when the day of their spiritual birth happens (being born again), they are now free and ready to go to heaven. But this is not the end but only the beginning of their walk with GOD. When the Israelites delivered from the slavery of Egypt, they thought that God will immediately lead them to the Promised Land. They never thought that they will suffer hardships in the wilderness before they reach their land. Because of this, they start blaming and doubting GOD.
There are some people that when GOD put them in trials (wilderness) they will be angry and they will complain just as the Israelites did when they suffered in the wilderness. Many want to go back and be slave of Satan because it is where they feel more comfortable. The Israelites too became angry and they wanted to go back to Egypt to be slaves. They want to go back because in Egypt, they are comfortable, they are being fed and they never lack food. While in the wilderness, they were hungry, thirsty, and they lived in tents. Who does not want a comfortable life? Who does not want a problem-free life? But most often, it is in the worst days of our lives that we grow more into maturity and we learn to fully trust GOD.
While some of the Israelites want to go back, some of them want to escape. They are looking for an easy way out. They are looking for shortcuts. They want to be immediately transported to the Promised Land. They don’t want to suffer trials in the wilderness which God intended for them to grow. We should not pray to God for an escape to all our tribulations but we must pray to Him to give us strength to overcome.
A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keeps going and suffer for it.” Proverbs 22:3
We hate being in the wilderness. We don’t want to experience difficult times. We don’t want to be physically weak. We don’t want to be emotionally drained. We don’t want to be spiritually stretched. But these are the times that God is refining us, changing us, removing our selfishness and teaching us to depend on Him.
When Daddy God wants us to learn a lesson, He will give us a test. He will allow us to be in the situations that He knows we are weak. He will pinpoint our weak areas by allowing us to undergo sets of trials. This is not to discourage us but in order for us to grow more. If we failed the test, He will again make a way for us to retake that particular test all over again until we pass it. We must not feel tired and discourage whenever we failed because GOD is not looking on the number of our failures but on how we persevere until the end.
Spiritual maturity is the same with our physical growth. It takes time to develop. It is the result of time and experiences in which we are growing more under the guidance of GOD. As we walk in the wilderness, Daddy God will be observing us while He is giving us some tests. He will be silent at times and will observe if we will obey Him or we will turn back to our old sinful habits.
Jesus was also led to the wilderness of testing. Not forty years but for forty days He experienced hunger and suffering and then at the end of that time faced an emotional and spiritual battle with Satan himself. It was such a hard time for Jesus but He endured and overcome this test because He knows that this was part of God’s plan.
Jesus learned obedience in the wilderness. He learned to put God above His physical desires (bread), above personal pride, above earthly things or possessions. He learned to put God above Himself. He learned to trust God. This could only be learned in the wilderness.
We often think, “If God loves me, then He will protect me from all trials and difficulties.” But this must not be our thinking, it must be “Because God loves me then He will allow me to face trials and difficulties in order for me to grow.”
ALL GLORY TO GOD!
-Daddy’s girl
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