![]() 6 “Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 5 “Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 4 “Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 3 “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. “You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. ![]() Then God brings weakness into your life, so that you will learn that your strength is in Him. Maybe you came to depend on your own strength or stamina. God removes the job for a time, so that you will learn to depend on Him. Maybe you came to depend on your job to provide. ![]() When God takes you to the wilderness, He withholds that which you have come to depend on other than Him. What has been your God appointed wilderness? Are you there right now? What do you suppose God is trying to teach you? Are you learning the lessons that God wants you to learn? 6 “You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORD your God. 5 “I have led you forty years in the wilderness your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. Looking back on those years in the wilderness, this is what God said to His people as they came to the Promised Land. The Wilderness is a Place of Preparation. God will be faithful to you in whatever wilderness you are facing, just as He was to the people He led out of Egypt. In the wilderness, He separates you from the influences of the world, as well as the things and people that you have learned to depend on, so that you will learn to depend on Him. In the confusing maze of the wilderness, you learn to let Him be your guide. In the darkness of the wilderness, He is your light. God lets you be weak, so that you can know His strength. God lets you be frightened and worried, so that you can come to know Him as your peace. God lets you be lonely, so that you can come to know Him as your friend. God lets you do without, so you can come to know Him as your provider. The uncertainties of the wilderness create a need for God and a dependence upon God. God carried them into the wilderness so that they could be apart from the influences of Egypt. We have said enough about wilderness questions. What can we know for sure about the purpose of the wilderness in the lives of God’s people? Did you get to that place by God’s guidance, or did you get there by misreading of God’s guidance? You might find yourself questioning God’s wisdom-or maybe even your own. If you are at a wilderness place in your life, you may find it to be more puzzle than purpose. The wilderness is a puzzle from our perspective, but from God’s perspective, it is His perfect plan for our lives. It can be a place of problems, and at the same time, a place of purpose. Has God’s will for you included a period of time in the wilderness? Time in the wilderness means facing wilderness struggles, and wilderness hardships, and wilderness questions. The center of His will for them would eventually be Canaan, but for a time, the center of God’s will was a great and terrible wilderness. What does that mean? What would it look like? Would it be a time of happiness and fulfillment? Is there ever a time that the center of God’s will might be a place of discouragement and difficulty? What about the children of Israel? God called Moses to bring them out of Egypt and into the center of His will. I want you to think for a moment about being in the center of God’s will.
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