In the Wilderness

Deuteronomy 2:7 "For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the works of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing."

If I know my way around one place, it’s the wilderness. I’ve been there more times than I care to count, and it seems like I land there more often than I ask for. One of the advantages of time in the wilderness is that I’ve gotten good at figuring out the best way out of it: You can either complain about your way out of the wilderness, or you can praise your way out of it.

The first response is rooted in fear. Fear leads to complaining and despair. Fear that God won’t show up in the wilderness is crippling. Then there’s the way of faith. Faith sings its way through the wilderness. Faith rejoices in the dry season. Faith looks up instead of around and knows that eventually, the wilderness is just a season. It will surely pass.

The promise God gave the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 2:7 is that He knew the way through the wilderness of their lives. Even more awesome was that He walked through the wilderness with the people of Israel. He never left them to wander aimlessly alone. He had a purpose for them in the wilderness, and He has a purpose for your wilderness season too! Remember that wherever God's hand points the way, His presence is sure to follow.

If you’re in the wilderness right now, decide how you’re going to get through it, and remember that complaining your way through the wilderness will only drag it out. Now you choose, but I’d recommend praise!

Questions:

How are you responding to the season of wilderness in your life right now? What are simple steps you can take to learn to praise your way through the wilderness?