"The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days."
Revelation 12:6 (NIV)
The wilderness was a place of testing for God’s people; a place of thirst and hunger, an unfruitful land that could only be wandered through and YET - the wilderness was a place of safety for God’s people. It was the place where they were protected from their enemies long enough to build and train an army. It was also the place where the people learned to TRUST and OBEY. Through the daily gathering of manna, and the following of the pillar of fire, the people learned that God is faithful, and that all they need to do is TRUST and OBEY.The wilderness was not a place of enjoyment, nor was it a place of rest - NO - they clearly understood that their rest and enjoyment would only happen for them as they entered and dwelled in the Promised Land. Seven hundred years later, they were devastated when God uprooted them from the Promised Land and placed them in captivity in Babylon. Psalm 137 describes their despair, and their struggle to praise God while being forced to live in the Babylonian “wilderness”. YET, Jeremiah 24 prophesied this forced captivity as God’s way of preserving their lives, and the lives of those who love God and are His true children. To use the common vernacular of 2014: “The wilderness sucks!”
Exodus 13, Revelation 12 and Jeremiah 24 teach that God uses the “wilderness” to keep His Old Testament people safe. Acts 8 teaches us that God uses the “wilderness” to keep His New Testament people safe! I don’t believe we are supposed to enjoy the wilderness; rather we are supposed to endure the wilderness. However enduring the wilderness can be easier to do when we reflect on the truth that the wilderness is a tool our Sovereign Lord prepares and uses to keep His people safe!
This simple children’s song has always blessed me when I realize I am in the wilderness!
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