The Israelites wandered in the midst of the desert for forty years, without much to indicate that they were doing the right thing besides God's provisions for their physical needs. Even so, they were consumed with complaints. Exodus 16 says, in fact, that "The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger" (Exodus 16:2-3, New Revised Standard Version).
Think about this- the very people of God who were being held in captivity- the ones who prayed for deliverance and answers to God's divine plans- they were complaining about that deliverance!
Was it not quite what they had imagined as they hammered pyramids into place?
Was it different than they'd dreamed as they put their sick children to bed at night within the shadow of an Egyptian kingdom?
Not only do the Israelites complain here about their salvation from Egyptian captivity, but they actually express longing for their former state of being! They start going so far as to wish that they had never been delivered from the hands of their Egyptian captor; that the Red Sea had never parted, and the miracles of Moses had never occcured!
From our perspectives, this seems utterly idiotic. I grew up hearing sermon and sermon about the folly and stupidity of the Israelites and their time in the desert. We look at this complaining and whiny group of people, and we shake our heads with wisdom. If only they'd known! If only they'd been aware of the beauty and perfection of the promised land that was to come! Were they truly that impatient? Were conditions really that bad? Were they so immersed in their own hardships that they were rendered incapable of seeing the bigger picture- that of redemption and the fulfillment of promises to their fathers? We are nothing like them... we, of course, would have been the great heroes of these stories. The Moseses, and Aarons, and Joshuas of the exodus story.
But then, there is us.
Us- with our full day planners and packed minivans. Us, with our dates to keep, and girlfriends to lunch, and errands to run.
Us, with our worried hearts and troubled spirits.
I know that I, for one, am guilty of the sin of being immersed in worry and anxiety. My need for control is pervasive. It invades every fiber of our beings until is consumes us. It takes hold of the very aspects of our hearts that make us women- the desire to comfort...to love.
We live in a fast-paced environment that is far from conducive to a lifestyle void of worry. In our 21st century frame of reference, we don't know how to slow down. We are unable to dissect need from want, and it causes us to be pummeled with the inevitable inadequacy of our vain attempts to be in control.
So we glorify that control. We make it our god and worship its presence. Referencing times in our lives when we have felt some perception of control, a frame of reference, we cling to it. "If I could just get back there again!," we think to ourselves.
To that stable relationship status.
To that perfect job that took away the concern for finances.
To that lack of responsibility.
Perhaps, we are not so very different from the wandering Israelites after all.
Complaining about our unhappiness with the present state of our lives... Longing for a time when things seemed more stable... Questioning the direction that we are headed.
Does any of this sound familiar?
The promised land is not far, precious friend. The wandering is not indefinite. And that hunger in your heart will not, contrary to belief, be pacified by returning to the captivity from which the Lord has set you free.
The promised land is near.
I know that you're tired of just getting by. I know that your spirit is aching for fulfillment, and your thirst seems unquenchable. I know that the direction you're headed doesn't seem to make much sense.
But the promised land is near.
Think back to the seemingly ridiculous complaints of the people of God wandering in the desert. We know that these worries and complaints were futile. We know how idiotic they sound, because WE KNOW that God fulfilled his promises in the lives of his people. We know the bounty of Canaan, and we know the beauty of promise fulfilled.
The promised land is near.
So when you're sick of manna and exhausted from wandering.. when unending desert is all that's out there, as far as the eye can see... when you're questioning where this pillar of fire is leading you in the dark of the night- Remember, dear one.
The promised land is near. And more likely that not, it will be so much better than you ever imagined.
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