The Hebrews were in a dry desert place, but it was also a very fertile place for complaining.
This is not the Hebrews’ finest moment. Within a few weeks after their miraculous deliverance they were deeply dissatisfied with where they found themselves, wandering in the desert. They missed the vegetables from the lush and fertile Nile River delta. They missed how things used to be.
They were sick and tired of three meals a day of manna for months. You would be too. As a teenager I hitchhiked and backpacked around the U.S. for a summer and got real sick of Top Ramen noodles for almost every meal. Just outside of the Teton Mountains in Wyoming I was craving a hamburger and I wanted it now!
The manna riots broke out and we know the rest of the story. We may find fault with the Hebrews, but are we any different given similar circumstances? Sooner or later we will be in a dry desert place where the attitude of our heart becomes painfully clear. In times like these our heart’s response will determine if we grow from these times or just merely go through them. We all have a choice.
The Desert Place Is Where God Wants to Deepen our Trust in Him.
God does His best when we’re stuck in a desert. It can a place of true change, a heart change, a change of perspective or a place where our hearts can become hard, dull, bitter and caustic. Yes, we can all get discouraged from circumstances that we can’t control and wish we could. Yes, it’s easy to cave in to the lesser gods of our culture that cater to our complaints. BUT GOD has something better for you and I, it’s called TRUST!
Remember God told the Hebrews before the Exodus,“I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.” God said, I will bring you into the promised land, but you got to trust Me. When the Jews’ backs were against the wall at the Red Sea God declared, “Stand firm and you will see the deliverance of the Lord.” Only three days later when there was undrinkable water God said, Trust Me and He brought water out of the rock. The people cried out again and again and God showed up when they needed Him. God continuously asked the Jews, will you trust me?
Like a scratch on an old vinyl record, the Hebrews’same song played over and over again, No we won’t trust you. As Luke commented in Acts 7:39, “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.” Prone to wander, God help us.
God is Not Absent in our Desert Place
But God wants to transform His people into a people of TRUST. Yes, there will be fears along the way and unexpected resistance amongst us, but God reminds us of His covenant in our desert place…
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Isaiah 43:1-2, 25
In response to Joshua’s great fear of taking over Moses’ leadership God said to him three times, “Be strong and courageous, I will lead you into the Promised Land and I will be with you!” Take refuge in that the same words God gave to Joshua He gives to you and I.
It is God’s presence, not preferable circumstances that brings us to a better version of ourselves.
This is what God was teaching Israel and what He wants to teach us as well. Join us next time as we discover how we can trust God by the kind of choices we make in our desert place.
