Hey everybody,
In my two previous posts I have discussed the idea of being in the wilderness, comparing our situation to that of the Israelites, as they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Certainly we all have times in the wilderness. Even Jesus had his time in the wilderness. Two lesson we have already seen about the wilderness from Deut. 8 is that 1) The Lord tests in the wilderness. and 2) The Lord still meets our needs, even in the wilderness. There is one more lesson to learn about the wilderness. That is, the wilderness is followed by the Promised Land. (Like lesson 2, someone spoke about this at the conference, but I do not remember who.)
Deut. 8:6-9 says, "Obseve the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to Him and revering Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land - a land with brooks, streams and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines, pomegrantates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills."
At this point, after all of this time in the wilderness, God was about to lead the nation into the Promised Land, a place with all kinds of good things. Likewise, you may feel like you are in the wilderness, right now, but be assured that the Promised Land is coming. I don't know how long this wilderness will last, but I do know that it will end. As we walk in obedience to Him (v.6), he will lead us to our own Promised Land.
Truth be told, this is not my first wilderness experience. It's probably not yours either. It likely won't be our last, either. Thankfully, God has given some great Promised Land eperiences in between. And no matter how many wilderness experiences we might have, we know that as disciples of Jesus, our story ends with Promised Land. So together, let us hear the call of Deut. 8:6 and walk in obedience and reverence to God, because you may be in the wilderness now, but the Promised Land is coming.
Tom
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Saturday, May 2, 2020
The Wilderness, Part 2
Hey everyone.
In my previous post I talked about going to the Conversations Conference and hearing different speakers talk about lessons they learned while in the wilderness, then coming and basically entering into a time of wilderness. We looked at Deuteronomy 8, and how Gow says that He had used the wilderness to humble and test the Israelites.
I want to share another lesson on the wilderness. Someone spoke about this at the conference, but I do not know who to give the credit to. Deut. 8:3-4 syas, " He humbled you, causing you t hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you not you ancestors had known, to teach you that man does nto live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years." The point that someone made at the conference was that the Israelites were not abandoned, just because they were in the wilderness. God continued to take care of them. He fed them and gave them some very sturdy clothes that did not wear out for forty years. They wandered around in that wilderness for forty years without their swelling. He took care of them nutritionally, materially and physically.
As we continue to wak around in this wilderness, God continues to take care of His people. I am fortunate, in that both my wife and I are able to work from home. I know that not everyone is so fortunate. I don't know things are going for you in this time of wilderness, but I believe that God will provide. Note that God did not provide that manna and quail unitl the Israelites knew they were hungry. Verse 3 says, "He humbled you, causing you to hunger, then feeding you.'' So if you are having a tough tme in the wilderness, don't despair. God has not abandoned you, He may be letting get hungry, but He will feed you.
Tom
In my previous post I talked about going to the Conversations Conference and hearing different speakers talk about lessons they learned while in the wilderness, then coming and basically entering into a time of wilderness. We looked at Deuteronomy 8, and how Gow says that He had used the wilderness to humble and test the Israelites.
I want to share another lesson on the wilderness. Someone spoke about this at the conference, but I do not know who to give the credit to. Deut. 8:3-4 syas, " He humbled you, causing you t hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you not you ancestors had known, to teach you that man does nto live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years." The point that someone made at the conference was that the Israelites were not abandoned, just because they were in the wilderness. God continued to take care of them. He fed them and gave them some very sturdy clothes that did not wear out for forty years. They wandered around in that wilderness for forty years without their swelling. He took care of them nutritionally, materially and physically.
As we continue to wak around in this wilderness, God continues to take care of His people. I am fortunate, in that both my wife and I are able to work from home. I know that not everyone is so fortunate. I don't know things are going for you in this time of wilderness, but I believe that God will provide. Note that God did not provide that manna and quail unitl the Israelites knew they were hungry. Verse 3 says, "He humbled you, causing you to hunger, then feeding you.'' So if you are having a tough tme in the wilderness, don't despair. God has not abandoned you, He may be letting get hungry, but He will feed you.
Tom
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