Like the Israelites, we are prone to wander. Even through our doubt, God is faithful, urging us to press on toward His promises.
Last time, we began the journey of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. The Israelites began in a place so broken and hopeless, they scoffed at the hope of God’s promises given through Moses, yet God remained faithful. He stayed true to His promises and did not condemn the children of Israel for their lack of faith. Instead, He strengthened their faith as He remained faithful to bring them out of Egypt, to safety on the other side of the Red Sea.
We all have an Egypt. We all have a Red Sea to cross. But the story didn’t end there. Crossing the Red Sea, freed from slavery only began their journey. They were not yet at the Promised Land. So let’s continue to learn from this story…
After the Egyptians died in the Red Sea and the Israelites found their freedom secure, what did they do? They had a worship service. There on the opposite side of the Red Sea from where they began, they saw God’s promise of freedom fulfilled, and the praised Him!
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,
“I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.Exodus 15:1-2, ESV
Doubt
Though they rejoiced with strength and vigor, their faith quickly turned again to fear and doubt. As they moved on towards the Promised Land, daily life was hard. Water and food were not as easily available as they were in Egypt, and the Israelites did not believe God would provide for them. They quickly began to long for the very slavery they so desperately wanted out of not many days before.
Even as they complained, God still provided. Their faithlessness did not cause His faithfulness to falter. It is impossible for God’s faithfulness to falter due to human faithlessness. Yet as He provided, they kept complaining. They made idols of gold, and they made plans to go back to the slavery of Egypt willingly. In the harsh wilderness, they longed for what was familiar even though it meant chains and slavery.
When they finally reached the edge of the Promised Land, they did not rejoice as they did before. They doubted God and sent their own spies. The report was not good. The inhabitants of the land seemed too powerful to overthrow despite God’s promise to do so for them. Only two of the twelve spies remembered God’s promises and encouraged the Israelites to trust Him who proved faithful again and again. The people ignored them, and they wailed, feeling hopeless once more. They thought it would be better if they died in the wilderness. They called for a leader to take them back to the chains of Egypt.
Retreat
As I considered their desire to go back to the bondage they wanted out of so badly before, I thought about the many times I believe going back to my Egypt—the place of resignation to how life is and that healing isn’t real—is better too. When this journey towards healing feels too hard, I think it is better to go back to the very place I wanted out of for so long. Sometimes, I get to the point where I feel so overwhelmed I can’t see past the moment I’m in. His promises for healing and redemption again seem too far out of reach. Going back appears to be the best choice in the moment, and it seems like the only way to find the relief I am desperate for. I am just like the Israelites once more.
But God wouldn’t let the Israelites go back because He knew it wasn’t best. He led them 40 years in the wilderness, still promising to lead them to the Promised Land, though they now had a very long detour because of their unbelief. He tested them in the wilderness, one year for every day the spies checked out the land. The very generation who wished they died in the wilderness instead of fighting for the land God promised were given their desire. It was their children He would lead into the Promised Land.
When this journey towards healing feels too hard, I think it is better to go back to the very place I wanted out of for so long. Click To Tweet
Wander
He still provided for their every need even when they didn’t believe He would while they complained relentlessly about the journey He was taking them on. He was faithful where they fell short. They were so close to the Promised Land. They stood on its border, but they wandered for 40 long years due to the hardness of their heart.
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put Me to the test
and saw My works for forty years…”Hebrews 3:7-9, ESV
I’m so much like the Israelites so often, but I don’t want to be. I am admonished to learn from their example. They stood on the edge of the promise fulfilled, but because they couldn’t see past the very moment they were in, they gave up and wandered for decades. I do not want to give up when I am so much closer to the Promised Land than I realize, just because I cannot see past the step directly in front of me. I don’t want to wander on this journey longer than I have to.
Pressing on
When I’m in the wilderness and I want to turn back, I can remember that He is still faithful, even when I can’t hold on to the hope He promises me. I can remember His faithfulness to Israel even in the hardness of their heart. I can remember their hardness of heart and plead with God to remove any hardness I may be harboring, so I can keep walking towards the Promised Land. When I want to go back to my Egypt and just feel nothing again and pretend nothing happened again, I can remember I’m closer to the Promised Land than I think, that the wilderness really is better than Egypt and that God is allowing what is best for me. I can cling to His faithfulness and keep pressing on in the difficult wilderness.
He is still faithful, even when I can't hold on to the hope He promises me. Click To Tweet
I’m in the middle of my own Exodus still. Maybe you are too. Your Egypt and wilderness and Promised Land may be different than mine, but I suspect, if we are honest, we all have an Exodus to travel. We have an advantage the children of Israel didn’t have though. We have their example to remind us to remember who God is, to heed His voice, and not harden our hearts, shutting down again. Also, we have evidence of His faithfulness in the middle of their doubt to remind us He is faithful in the middle of ours.
Sometimes, Egypt seems like a great place to go. The wilderness we muddle through seems too much to bear. The Promised Land seems more like a dream than a reality we will reach one day. We must remember we are in the middle of our own exodus story, and the same God that brought freedom and redemption to the doubting Israelites, leading them every step of the way in the wilderness, is leading the way for us in our wilderness and will bring about our freedom and our redemption just as surely as He did for them. As I was reminded just the other day…keep at it; Jesus is worth it.
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Wonderful post! This wilderness is so much my life right now. It’s dark, unknown, and sometimes feels insecure because what I was set free from was safe and familiar. But in spite of the changes and what I can’t see ahead, I’m pressing forward and trusting God’s promises.
“Their faithlessness did not cause His faithfulness to falter.”
I love that! What a reassuring statement. I am so prone to anxiety and worry that could not be present if I were putting all my trust in God. But even when I falter in my faithfulness, He doesn’t.
Thank you for such a great post!