We are currently in Numbers 20 and
according to the comments in my Bible, 37 years had passed since
Israel's first scouting mission and almost 40 years since leaving
Egypt. Now the Bible is silent about the 37 years that had passed,
but I am quite certain that it wasn't 37 pleasant years. Judging by
the people once again complaining at Kadesh:
"We wish we had died in the Lord's
presence with our bothers! Did you (Moses) bring the Lord's people
into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock? Why did
you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place?
This land has no grain, figs, grapes or pomegranates. And there is
no water to drink!" Numbers 20:3 - 5
Poor old Moses, here he was
receiving the blame again. As I was reading this, I realized that
Moses almost never received any praise from the people he was
shepherding on God's behalf. They were always moaning and
complaining about him and trying to make someone else the leader
instead of him. And on more than one occasion he had to plead with
the Lord not to destroy these people, despite all the evil they
have said and done to him. Moses never had it easy. Plus he had to
suffer in the wilderness alongside all these people, despite the
fact that he didn't do anything wrong. He wanted to go and possess
the Promised Land, but it was the people who refused to go.
And this is a lesson for us. We
tend to think if we are walking in the will of the Lord everything
will go well with us. We will have a smooth ride and everything
will go according to plan. I have even heard people say that when
everything is well, you are in God's Will and when things go wrong
or bad things happen, you are not in God's Will. Now that is a very
daring statement to make. It wouldn't seem like it to me if you
look at Moses' life. He has done everything God has told him to do,
he surely was in God's perfect will for his life, but he certainly
didn't have it easy.
Nor did several other people in the
Bible that lived according to God's plan for them. Isaiah who
faithfully preached God's message was sawn in half, Abraham was
obedient in leaving his comfortable home but had to live like a
nomad without his own country for the rest of his life, John the
Baptist who announced the coming of the Messiah was beheaded, Peter
who was a main leader in the early church was crucified, Paul who
wrote most of the New Testament was beheaded and so I can go on. If
I search through the Bible it would seem to me that following the
Lord don't mean that we have a smooth ride. I mean Jesus, our
Messiah, certainly didn't have one either. But what it
does mean is that we can have ultimate fulfillment that we
have run the good race and finished with an imperishable crown. And
we can have God's peace and joy that transcends all understanding
whilst in the situation we are planted in. We will have His loving
arms around us and we will experience His presence.
And at the end of the day God's
approval is what counts. He approved of all the names I mentioned
above. Today they are heroes of the faith and we look up to them,
but in their day they had it rough. We might also have it rough,
but look up to God, the beginning and the end of our faith, and ask
Him to lead you. If you are suffering for His sake, then it is
worth it. He is molding you into a hero of the faith and you will
reap your rewards some day, just keep on believing.
Father, thank you that we can know
that one day we will have it smooth, one day we will live with You
and we will be treated as royalty. But thank you that You are with
us today too and that You are looking after us like a tender-loving
parent. We love You, help us to stand strong. Amen