[Thursday's Devotional] - Deserts

Not surprisingly deserts are not popular places, even in the Bible.  They are places of testing and trial that call for endurance but are more often places where we grumble. Not long after their amazing escape from Egypt where they had been enslaved and were at risk of being wiped out as a nation, the Hebrews find themselves in a desert and they are not happy:

'The whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron…you have brought us out into this desert to starve the entire assembly to death' Exodus 16: 2,3 [NIV]

It doesn't take much in the way of deprivation for them to forget that they walked out of Egypt without a fight and loaded down with the wealth of the Egyptians. They have also forgotten that this is a journey with a destination in mind: the Promised Land. They could have got through the desert in a matter of weeks. Instead, because they lost courage, they stayed there for 40 years. And poor old Moses never made it out of the desert, he was allowed to peek at their destination but he never entered it.

The story has deep resonance within our own church community. A few years ago we were challenged about being in 'the land in between'. In terms of our hopes and dreams, the location of our 'promised land' might have shifted unexpectedly for some of us. For others it might feel as if we are in desert of waiting. 

I have just one question: what are you grumbling about? And do you remember that it was fear and grumbling that held the people back?

Lord forgive us when we grumble, we so easily forget all the great things you have done for us. Give us hopeful and expectant hearts that you are leading us forward through this desert period. Help us to encourage one another along the way.

Sheila Bridge