Walking By Faith

You were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, “The LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go? Deuteronomy 1:26-27.

My husband walks with two canes. I can only offer him help with doors, or steps if I stay with him. If I want to have any kind of conversation with him while we walk along, I must slow my pace to match his. Otherwise, if I speak, I am so far ahead of him he can’t hear me, or I am unable to hear him because he lags behind me. It takes hard work to stay with him and curb my impatience.

Similarly, the Israelites found it easier to remember their past life in Egypt (“Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”) or even to look forward to Canaan than to trust God and His servant Moses day to day in the wilderness. These travelers felt bound by the Cloud by Day and the Fire by Night and knew they needed to move only when God told them to. They hated the manna they had to eat because they compared it to the tasty fare they enjoyed in Egypt. In addition, they were constantly hearing about the land “flowing with milk and honey” to which they were headed.

Maybe you feel hampered in your walk of faith. Perhaps you have much “behind” you that you feel you have lost. Perhaps you, like the Israelites, remember the good, but conveniently forget the difficulties of what you have left behind. And, perhaps you look forward, no doubt with a bit cloudier vision, but with a longing for a new season of life.

Today, ask the God of grace to fit you for the journey with a new kind of perseverance. Your steps are ordered by the Lord. (Psalm 37:23 KJV). He knows where you’ve come from and where He is taking you. In order to get His direction and receive the help He constantly has to offer you, you need to walk beside Him, not before or behind. This requires the daily gathering of manna (His word) for nourishment, and the hopeful waiting and watching for the signs that He wants to move you forward. Stay in faith today.