Me: Prodigal, where are you today?
Prodigal: I am out in this desert heat with my friend Lizard.
Me: I hope you have plenty of water and you are not planning on traveling too long.
Prodigal: Well we were not sure in which direction to go when you just showed up.
Prodigal: While we try to figure that out, can you tell us a story?
Me: Today I will share about another group of people who wandered in a desert.
Lessons I Learned In the Dark by Jennifer Rothschild shares her thoughts on Israel.
The Bible says that when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, God “guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night”(Psalm 78:14). I bet the nation of Israel remembered the cloud that led them. But I also bet that when they remembered the cloud, they couldn’t help but recall the difficulties of their journey through the wilderness. The desert was a place of longing and need, a place that required them to depend totally upon God.
Why did God allow His covenant people to wander in the desert for so long? The Old Testament suggests that it was because the harsh conditions of the wilderness revealed the true nature of the sojourners. Early in the book of Exodus we begin to read accounts of grumbling and complaints on the part of the Israelites. Their faith grew faint, and they often lost their perspective. Later, Moses reminded them about that: “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would really obey his commands” (Deuteronomy 8:2)
I believe that God allows all of us to wander through deserts at times in order to test us. The wilderness shows who we really are and whom we really trust. Sometimes God lets us be hungry just so He can feed us, and sometimes He lets us wander just so we’ll look for Him in the cloud.
So when you think of your desert, remember the cloud. In the Old Testament it always represents God’s presence. When the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness was over, they still faced an uncertain future across the Jordan, and they were afraid. But even though the cloud was no longer there to guide them, God was still there. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.” Moses reminded them; “he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8).
Even when clouds darken our world, if we look closely, we’ll see that He is with us, and His presence will always lead us to our promised land.
Remember what matters.
If you do, you’ll never forget in the dark what you knew was true in the light, and you’ll be able to smile even when you see nothing buy gloomy shadows.
Today is a day for you to Remember. It is a day you remember beyond the dark and remember what you know is true in the light.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Jennifer Van Allen,
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
