“We traveled from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea” (Deut. 1:19).
You’ve read in the Word about peace like a river, but you feel like you’re drowning in stress. You’ve heard of strength but know weakness. Freedom but feel enslaved. That great and terrible wilderness. It is not your home. You are only camping out here. You must get through it on your way to the Promised Land. We must through many tribulations, not around them, enter the Kingdom of God.
The Word has whet your appetite for something better. You are ready to change the taste of sand in your mouth for milk and honey. The Lord has enticed you thus far with the manna of truth, with the Bread of Life. You have tasted of His goodness, now you are ready for the banquet.
The wilderness wandering is important. It helps you see that the world’s offerings aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Fame, power, possessions, admiration—their gleam has rusted over, the dream has faded out. God has sprinkled fairy dust in your eyes and you are ready to move out of the stepmother’s house into the prince’s castle.
This terrible wilderness, where you stress over sin and self, is a passing phase. It is not the normal Christian life. Reassert God’s truth when you are tempted to complain over your hardships.
As often as temptation asserts itself, surrender the body and mind to the Lord. This work of faith breaks the bonds. It stands on the ground of God’s promises. Christ has set you free from the power of sin and you want to experience more of that liberty.
It’s the liberty to trust in the Lord where self was supreme. To obey Him in place of self doing its pleasure. To march forward instead always demanding more information beforehand.
When you believe the promise of God over what you feel or what the world teaches, then you have already overcome. You have made a choice for God in the matter. You are then standing firm for the will of God. You will know how to pray; the promise will show you. Since you believe God’s way is best, your life will head in a new direction. Feed on the rations of the Word of God and endure the conflicts to the end.
