Deuteronomy 29:5-6,  Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I held you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.  You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink.  I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”

While the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness God sustained them.  Their shoes and clothes didn’t wear out and they were given Manna every day to eat, but they didn’t have the “extras” like bread, meat, and wine.  They had their bare necessities.  Now, if you read about the entire journey you see that there was a time when they threw a fit about not having meat and God gave them meat until they were ill from it.  The reason He separated them and brought them out to that barren land was to teach them about who He is and to strengthen them in their relationship with Him.  He gave Moses the Laws they were to live by.  You have to remember they were coming from a land of multiple other “gods” and they needed guidance.  They had seen the miracles, now they needed to learn to trust Him for everything.  They were no longer in a place where they could just go fishing, or to a market to buy what they wanted, they had to totally rely on God.  There are struggles in life that often leave you feeling as though maybe you have done something to make God angry or something because your prayers don’t seem to get above the ceiling and everything in life seems to be going wrong, you may even feel as though you are barely getting by. If you listen to the wrong people they will confirm that for you because they believe that if you live for God and you pray then that’s it, you have what you asked for, but they miss the fact that you will have everything God has promised you in His time.  Your prayers have been heard and God is moving and working but the wait is there to teach you to persevere and to help you grow stronger in your faith. He has a plan and a reason for everything including His timing.

Exercising your faith comes when you have to wait on God, but even though you don’t see anything changing, you believe Him and His Word and you continue on in Faith believing that His timing is perfect.  That doesn’t mean we just love to wait, no one does, it means we have confidence in the wait because of who God is!  

God’s goal in the wilderness is to strengthen you and grow you into all He created you to be and the best way to accomplish that is to spend more time in His Word.  Ask Him for a passion to know Him more and dig into His Word. Don’t settle for where you are in your relationship with Him! Your strength and faith grow as your understanding of who He is grows because your strength is in Him.  As you strengthen your faith the more confidence you have when struggles come.  God wants you to be an overcomer so if you find yourself in a storm or “wilderness”, it isn’t for nothing!  God wants to use it for your good and He will guide you to overcome.  David didn’t defeat Goliath before he had to face a lion and a bear.  Every step in our journey of life is meant to be a stepping stone in our walk with Him to help draw us closer to Him.  Write down Psalm 31:24 and carry it with you:  “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”  See every struggle that comes your way no matter how overwhelming or small it may be as a chance to grow.  Don’t let satan discourage you, and don’t allow other people to either.  Keep your focus and hope in God and He will sustain you and bring you into all He created you to be and all He created for you!

So, whether you are on a mountaintop or in a desert valley I would like to encourage you to start today digging in and spending time alone with Him in His Word and in prayer.  Grow where you are.  Be intentional in your growth just as you would anything else in your life that is important to you!  His best is yet to come.