Deuteronomy 1:29-33 “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’ “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.”
When troubles come, it is sometimes difficult to do nothing. We are made in God’s image, so we are creative people who seek to make things better for ourselves, not dependent on others. It is borne from the American value of independence above waiting for a handout. Still, amid wilderness moments, as people of God, we must learn to trust and know that God is with us, for the battle belongs to Him. Looking back over my life, I am amazed at the doors that opened and shut that I could not see because God can see the future, and we were not given that ability, thankfully.
The children of Israel had escaped slavery and oppression in Egypt, and they were on their way to the Promised Land when they found themselves in the wilderness. They started to complain because events were not unfolding as they expected or maybe as they would have orchestrated, still reluctant to trust God to know how to get them safely through to victory. I understand how impatience and anxiety can convince us that if we do not take charge of the situation, it will not change.
Today, whatever the trials and tribulations have brought you into a wilderness experience, be encouraged that God knows where you are headed and the best route, for He has the plan to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Remember the words of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Put your trust in God and not in human beings, even yourself. We don’t have the resources of God or His insight.
Amen.
Help from Heaven 