33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other. (Deuteronomy 4:33-35)
With great signs and wonders, the Lord delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. He led them out of bondage, out of that which enslaved them–miraculously. And yet, during that time of testing in the wilderness, they grumbled and complained, looking back with longing to that which they had been rescued from. Don’t we do this too? We remember our pasts with affectionate longing, forgetting all that the Lord has truly delivered us from. We remember only the good and the bad becomes conveniently not so bad. The wilderness tries us. It tempts us to give in and go back. We long for rest, not realizing we are missing the very point of the wilderness period–we are being taught and trained by the Almighty God for something much greater than our past! Our rest lies just beyond the borders of the desert in the Promised Land–Jesus himself! Embrace what the Lord is teaching you, enduring and looking ahead.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)
Prayer Starter: Lord, thank you for saving me. Thank you for your mighty arm that rescues and for your great love and compassion for me. Help me realize the magnitude of what you have done and to never forget the great lengths you went to in pursuing a relationship with me. Forgive me, Lord, when I stumble in the wilderness and want to give up. Teach me perseverance, Lord, and increase my faith.
ALL OF YOU LORD. 