Wednesday wanderings

As the people wandered through the wilderness, they struggled with trusting in the Lord. He had done great things for them - brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, He had divided the Red Sea and gave them dry ground upon which to walk, He had stopped the Egyptian army when they followed into the Sea, He had given water from a rock, He had given them manna and quail, He had protected them from their enemies. There was so much that God had already done for them.

Then they grumbled. They wondered where God was in their lives. As they sat in the wilderness, they complained that God had deserted them. Why were they stuck there in the wilderness? Why did God make them to do this?

Wait a moment, God was ready to take them into the Promised Land but they didn't trust Him. He had given them leadership that was willing to step out in faith to follow the way of the Lord. But they refused to listen to Him. They refused to trust Him. They followed their own way, their own thoughts, and their own desires. And they messed it up royally.

Then it was God's fault? Yep. That is what we do as well. Wait. Weren't we just talking about the children of Israel? How did this get to us? Because we are like them in that God has done mighty things for us. He has broken the power of the devil. He had given freedom from the power of sin. He had crushed and broken the grip of death and the grave. He gave that to us, free of charge, giving us the very faith that we need to be saved.

And then we grumble against God. We find ourselves in this wilderness called life. As we wander through each day, we don't follow His will. We don't listen to His Word. We do our own thing. We listen to the words of the world. Things fall apart. Our lives become a mess. And we grumble about God - that He isn't with us, He isn't taking care of us, and so on.

He was with the Israel. He was caring for them even as they grumbled. He was loving them even when they were looking at a golden calf. He continued to love them despite themselves.

He does the same with us. He loves us. He cares for us even while we grumble. He loves us even while we turn our eyes from Him to the world around us. He watches over us even when we are not looking to Him.

He showed this in His Son Jesus Christ. The Son came into this world, joined the wandering people where they were at, lived among the people, understood what they were facing, took their sins, carried the fullness of the Law as He went to a cross, suffered and died, and then was buried. He then rose from the dead. All for His people who are wandering. All for you and me!

For me, it leads me to saying: Thank You Lord for being with me each day. Thank You for loving me despite how I act. Help me to keep my eyes focused on You as I wander through this world. When I grumble, forgive me. Help me to see Your hand in my life today. Amen.