Going Nowhere?

"The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord." Joshua 5:6... "Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when their faith is greater than their fear." Michelle Rigby Assad...."Often times, our greatest inner change happens when we're going nowhere." Unknown

God had brought the people of Israel to the border of the land He had promised them. They were to enter in immediately and take possession, but instead sent twelve spies in to explore the land. This was their first act of disobedience. When the twelve returned, ten gave a report that pierced the hearts of the people. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, exhorted the people to go in and take possession. They were the only ones who had really seen, the ten did not. In fear, the people refused to enter in. This was their second and greater act of disobedience. As a result, God sent them back into the wilderness for forty years. His purpose was clear; a generation of people who lacked the courage to obey had to die off before the people could enter into the promise. So for forty years the entire nation wandered, going nowhere. Except that they were going somewhere.

In that instance God dealt with a nation. A nation conditioned by their past to continue to live and think like the slaves they had been in Egypt instead of the free people they now were in Him. What may seemed like an act of cruelty to some was instead an act of love. He knew they could never have conquered the land with the traits they possessed. He had to refine them, prune them, grow them, and He did it all while they wandered, going nowhere. A new generation, raised in that wilderness grew up, free from the that which held their parents captive. This generation would cease the aimless wandering and take possession of what God had already given. They entered into that land a changed and transformed people. How He dealt with Israel remains a clear pattern in how He may deal with you and me.

Many of us embark upon our journey of faith full of hope, ideals, dreams and desires. We want to live for Him, be heroes for Him. Then we come up against the giants of the land, the cities with strong walls, and the adversaries that we'll have to face. In those places, we have the choice between fear and faith. Too often we choose fear. We're not ready spiritually, emotionally, or even physically to enter into all that He's promised. His response will be to send us into a wilderness time. A time when we seem to be going nowhere, except that we are. We are going to the place He has for us, becoming the person and people He created us to be. Oftentimes, indeed, most times, the wilderness is the only place where that can happen. Old traits, mindsets, character flaws can be dealt with in the wilderness. We can cease being slaves to our past, fearful of the future, and powerless in the present. Someone said that Jesus saw the wilderness as His friend, because He knew what the Father meant to do with Him there. Few of us see it that way, but the wilderness can be our friend if we will trust Him, see Him, and hear Him there. We will emerge, and when we do, we will never be the same again. It only seemed like we were going nowhere. All the while we were journeying ever deeper into Him and who He made us to be.

In our walk today, especially in this day, we are all in some sense, in the wilderness. What will happen to us here? Will we "die" as concerns hope, joy, faith, or will we enter into a joy, hope, faith, and peace we've never known? When this wilderness time ends, what kind of people will we be? Unchanged, or made new? We are all ordinary people, but if we yield to the wilderness, I believe we will emerge as ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the midst of a world in desperate need of that. We will always face a wilderness at some point. Will we be changed there, or just plod on unchanged? Faith or fear. Which will it be for us?

Blessings,
Pastor O