The Wandering: Loss of Direction

The Hope

The Israelite wandering has many things to teach us both about human character as well as the character of God

There is a unique obstacle that is presented when we wander. The lack of direction, aimlessness, hopelessness, etc. are all intensified.

Many of you may have experienced times like that or may be experiencing it now. A period of time when you’re just kinda like “where do we go from here?”

There is only now and eternity but what do we do in the time in between…what do we do with the apparent wandering?

The beginning of wandering usually starts first with the hope.

Israel, had just left Egypt by a miraculous act of God…crushing the Egyptians and bringing his people out.

He had also given them a law, identified them as His people, and literally set up shop in their midst through the tabernacle of Moses.

Imagine the amazement and excitement that was taking place…I mean God was RIGHT IN THEIR MIDST.

I can imagine, you Israelite boys laying awake at night, staring out their tents at the pillar of fire as it swirled over the tabernacle…in awe of its beauty

In addition to that God was taking them somewhere, to their promised land.

Num. 13:21 speaks of the spies that were sent out from the Israelite camp to the Promised Land and how they found grapes, pomegranates and figs, showing the produce of the land.

v. 27 describes it...

Numbers 13:27 ESV

And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

There was the belief that this land was theirs for the taking and that they could do it with ease.

I have been teaching Malik how to ride a bike recently. He sees his older brother and sister riding and going for trips around the neighborhood, going down hills, and having fun and he wants in on the action. He sees the ease with which they glide, wind in their hair, and smiles on their faces and he wants that. So we started training. He would ride on two wheels as my hand gripped the seat and would give him just enough slack to allow his body to fight for balance. Seems easy enough to him. He has no idea though how much I’m holding onto that seat and how little control he really has…he just peddles with visions of freedom and granduer!

That isn’t too different for the Israelites…they didn’t have to do much to escape Egypt. They plundered them as they left after all.

Yet somewhere along the way the forgot God’s hand on the seat and thought it was them peddling.

They became enamored with the land and forgot that it was faith that carried them, not their own strength.

That is how wanderings usually begin…there is first the hope....

TR: Then there is the heartbreak...

The Heartbreak

The heartbreak comes when expectations aren’t met

Many of you may have experienced this…when everything seemed to be going well and then the obstacle seems insurmountable!

The wealth is just good enough to intoxicate you and yet the effort is too difficult and then you fall into despair! Emotional whiplash!!!

I’ve seen this at times when someone was just about to get their big break, stuff was just falling into place, you were just about to round that corner and BAM! Life happens...

This is one of the most pivotal moments for believers and unfortunately we fail....however, our failure happened during our comforts not during our chaos…let me explain.

The Israelites grumbled against Moses when Pharoah told them to make bricks without straw, yet God provided.

The Israelites turned in panic as the Egyptians pursued them by the Red Sea, yet God delivered.

The Israelites grumbled against Aaron when Moses stayed too long on Mt. Sinai, yet God forgave.

The pattern was that in moments of trial…Israel became aware of their inadequacy and sought to remedy it through their own strength…just like Adam and Eve plucking the fruit from the tree in Eden.

Family, there is a pattern of behavior in your life that can be insidious and must be rooted out.

It happens that same as it did with Malik when as he peddled and enjoyed the pleasures of speed and risk, he road too far out in front and forgot that it was my hand all along that was steadying him.

When pleasures swallow up dependence we end up in heartbreak…every time.

Not heartbreak because of the suffering, people have faced suffering for generations. Heartbreak because our hope was really in comfort rather than God.

Numbers 13:28–31 ESV

However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.”

Heartache first turns to personal inadequacy…they are too big!

When expectations are lost many times we first blame ourselves…why did I do that?

Why didn’t I see that coming? How could I have prevented it?

What’s interesting is much of our current efforts at success are very much like the Tower of Babel, whose people sought to unite so that they can overcome any catastrophe that might fall upon them.

How much of your anxiety is due to personal inadequacy!

I perpetually walk around feeling inadequate, as a pastor, father, husband, friend…so I try to outwork it!

Some of you may be this way or know someone like it.

The heartache then turns to other’s inadequacy

Numbers 14:2 ESV

And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!

So the Israelites, now reeling from their disappointment, rise up against leadership.

“why did he do this to me?”, “I thought they loved me..”, “I believed I could trust them...” with the ultimate conclusion being…I’m alone.

Lastly, the heartache rises up to God’s inadequacy

Numbers 14:3 ESV

Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

Why did the Lord allow that to happen to me…I can’t trust him, does He love me?

We begin to question the very essence of ourselves, others, and our God…wandering can be a powerful thing.

So powerful that we’d rather embrace bondage to familiarity than experience the unknown…even WITH God.

We rebel, reject God, and embrace anyone or anything that can identify us, own us, give us some semblance of hope…even false hope!!!

So we wander…hopeless and heartbroken…yet that’s not the end is it?

TR: In spite of the our failures…there’s still help

The Help

The Israelites did eventually enter into the Promised Land though didn’t they?

Yet that wasn’t there focus at the time…they had to deal with the issue of their rebellion, the consequences of their decisions and the decisions of others...

That is where we are at the present moment…whether it be the consequences of ourselves or the society that we’ve created for each other, we are wandering…we are in the space between freedom of slavery to sin and entering into a promised dwelling of eternity.

What are we to do? What are we to feel?

It’s interesting that even the faithful were called to wander alongside the disobedient in the case of Israel. Caleb, Joshua, and Moses hadn’t sinned against God but still dealt with the consequences of the Israelites faithlessness.

There’s much to be learned there. The reality that we aren’t as disconnected as we like to believe. Sometimes you don’t get what you’ve earned but instead what others have earned, both positive and negative. That there are times when you are called alongside the faithless even though you’re faithful.

Yet here is the help that we ought to focus on…the promised land while being an actual location wasn’t the place of rest...

The Israelites, like many of us, had their eyes fixed on the physical. That’s what got them in this mess to begin with.

The rest that they needed was in the presence of God! See the beauty in the wandering is that while wandering YOU’RE NOT LOST!!!

While we may crave to enter into eternity, to be in Heaven, realize that while yes it is a location, the peace of God rests with the presence of God and the presence of God is with us!

He has not forsaken you! Throughout the course of this journey God remained with them, supplying them with food, water, protection, leadership, counsel, healing, their clothes didn’t wear out, their enemies couldn’t stand against them.

Although they were wandering they weren’t abandoned…God was there the entire time!!!

Remember family…although you haven’t entered in neither have you been left without!

Don’t allow the flesh to rise up during this time of testing, bring division, try to get us to forsake one another, or forsake our God!

He hasn’t forgotten you anymore than He forgot the Israelites then!

Don’t pursue the comfort of Jesus’s hand and forget that HE is the one who is truly our treasure!

While we fight for justice, righteousness, purity of heart, the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, the forsaken…remember that this wandering isn’t permanent!!!

However, don’t let your hope be on purely freedom from suffering but instead know that your help comes from the Lord who IS OUR FREEDOM!!!

We may be in our wandering family…but our direction stays the same…focused on the Lord!