He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.

Acts 7:36

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live our whole life on earth in our “land of milk and honey”? Unfortunately, that just isn’t the case. When God finally led the Israelites out of Egypt (after 400 years in captivity), He didn’t lead them directly to their promised land. They spent the first year in the wilderness.

They weren’t ready for the promise. First, there were many things to teach them, and the wilderness was the perfect place to do it. There was still much fear in t
he unknown. Moses asked them to leave all they knew for generations. The agony was terrible, but there was comfort in the known.

They had to know Who to follow. God gave them the cloud by day and the fire by night to learn His guidance was trustworthy. When the cloud stopped, they stopped. When the cloud moved, they trudged on. 

They had to know Who would provide. They spent generations in Egypt trusting false gods. God showed His trustworthiness by providing water when they were thirsty, bread when they were hungry, and meat when they were sick of only bread. He wanted them to realize they could turn to Him for any need.

They had to know Who and how to worship. While in the wilderness, God led them to build the tabernacle and gave them the Law. They learned requirements for sacrificing and cleansing of sin. 

We don’t start our lives in our promised land either. We have to learn who to follow, who to trust, worship, praise, and please. How does God prepare us for our promised land? He draws us to Him, loves, disciplines, and teaches us through trials and hardship all through our lives and in times of wilderness.  

Heaven is ultimately our promised land. However, we have times of blessed promise here on earth, too. Let’s set our hearts to prepare for our land of milk and honey. We have to know that we will spend time in the wilderness along the way. How else will we recognize the promise unless we’ve experienced life in the wilderness?

Johna Clemons