Doing Circles in the Wilderness

1)     God blessed them. This is in keeping with His promise to Abraham in Gen 12.2-3 that He would bless His people.

2)     God blessed them in all the work of their hands. Despite being in the wilderness, the people worked. They did what they needed to do. Life and responsibility does not end when our journey leads us through wilderness or when storms overtake us. God has blessed us with work. This work is for our benefit, our provision, our means of contributing, and because we were created to do good works that God ordained since the beginning of time. He is the master and we are the servants to be faithful stewards. In their faithful work, God blessed them.

3)     God reassures them that He knows they are going through this wilderness. It was no ordinary wilderness. It was a great wilderness. There was never a moment that God was not aware of their situation. God does not sleep. He is ever vigilant. He does not go on vacation or lose focus. He does not have ADD. He is constantly aware of the situation of every one, especially His children.

4)     God is present. He was with the Israelites for every second, minute, hour, day and year of their time in the wilderness. He is always there. We, on the other hand, occasionally, sometimes, regularly drift. Like a person who gets distracted texting while trying to walk or drive, we drift because our focus is not where it should be. Peter, even with a storm on the horizon, walked on water while he was focused on Jesus. But when he got distracted, that's when he sank. In the wilderness, despair, depression and panic sets in when we look at our environment instead of our Savior.

5)     The Israelites lacked for nada, zip, zilch, niente, nichts, rien, nic, niets, nothing. Moses accounts how their clothing and shoes never wore out. God provided sufficient water and food for them and all of their livestock. That is enough food for over 3 million people on a daily basis plus animals. Despite 40 years in the wilderness, when they finally headed north toward Canaan, they had money to pay the Edomites and Moabites for food and water. God provided.

     David praises the Lord in Psalm 36 declaring "Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds." Jeremiah cries out "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. . ."  

In whatever wilderness you, as a follower of Christ, may find yourself approaching, in, or leaving, surely goodness and mercy will follow you and may you seek to dwell in the presence of the Lord forever.