Desert Wanderers

That's what we are - desert wanderers. We are just like God's people who were rescued out of Egypt. If you are unfamiliar with this story, it can be found in the book of Exodus in the Old testament of the bible. God miraculously led his people out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt and was leading them to a place of rest - a land he had promised their forefathers that he would give them. But they were faithless. Hebrews 3:10 says, "Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways. God became angry with them and announced that none of these faithless ones would enter His rest. God was true to His word. They wandered the desert for 40 years until all of the original people rescued from Egypt were dead with the exception of Caleb and Joshua. These were the only two that remained faithful.

As I was reading Hebrews 3 and 4 this morning, I realized that our lives are very much like the nation of Israel wandering around in the desert. When we decided to believe that Christ is our Savior and put our faith and trust in Him alone, God rescued us from the bondage and slavery to sin just like God rescued the Israelites from bondage and slavery in Egypt. But just like the Israelites had to travel through the desert to reach the promised land and enter into God's rest, we too, need to remain in the world and travel through it before we enter into God's eternal rest. It is during this time that it is SO important that during this time we REMAIN faithful to God. As it says in Psalm 95:7-8, "for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert,"