They were on the move again. They had no idea why. Camped by the twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees at Elim, the travelers would have been quite happy to stay for an extended period of time. Weeks. Months. Years. Maybe a lifetime. It had been a much-needed reprieve for their tired selves. The journey to Elim had been a less than comfortable excursion. The whirlwind exodus from Egypt, plunging them into an independence they weren’t entirely prepared to undertake. The narrow escape through the Red Sea proving there could be no turning back. The waterless three-day trek through the wilderness of Shur posing the question whether or not they’d make it out alive. The bitter, undrinkable waters of Marah, although perfected by the miraculous work of a stick, pressing home the fact that things were not as they had been in Egypt. Yes. They were absolutely interested in an extended stay at Elim. (Exodus 12:23-36, 14, 15:22-23)
It was not to be. Stretching and yawning, they cautiously peered through their tent flaps. Hopes were immediately dashed. Countenances fell. The pillars of cloud and fire were ready to move again. Their barely awakened ears would soon be assaulted by the voice of Moses as he traversed the camp, urging readiness for travel. It was time to move out again. They already knew the drill. Collapse and roll the tents. Stuff your belongings back into your packs. Collect your children. Gather the livestock. Get a move on. It’s time to move out. (Exodus 16:1)
Sighing, they obeyed. Packed up camp. Fell into traveling formation. Casting one last wistful look at the plentiful water and restful trees, they set their steps to follow. As they walked, they surely wondered. How long would the trek be this time? Days? Weeks? Longer? Remembering past events, some surely worried. How long would the water collected at Elim last? Would there be a spring or stream along the way? And what about food? What would they do when their stores were completely depleted? Surely the question on everyone’s mind, yet crossing only the bravest of lips, asked exactly how far it was to this Promised Land? They’d thought it was closer. With this amount of time on the road and no final destination yet appearing, would their weakening faith ever truly become sight?
There’s something about the silence of traveling that wreaks havoc with your brain. It makes the thoughts in your head seem louder, more emphatic. As you ruminate over the angles of your current situation, the evil one leaps at the opportunity to whisper in your ear delivering possible problems, catastrophic circumstances, fatal futures. In a swirling eddy, they tumble over and around one another raising questions to which you have no answers. Worry clogs your throat. Fear settles like a rock in the pit of your stomach. Anxiety haunts your every move. Feeling helpless and desperate, it becomes easy to lash out. At yourself. At others. At God.
It seems this is the exact place the Israelites found themselves. They were tired of traveling. They’d run out of things to talk about days ago. Silence reigned. Their minds roared. All they had now was their thoughts to keep them company. Thoughts of the eventful journey behind them. Thoughts of what might lie ahead. Thoughts of the hunger and thirst they had already endured. Thoughts of Egypt, its overflowing meat pots, plenteous bread, and abundant water. And they again had something to talk about. With Moses.
Arriving in yet another wilderness, Sin, they sounded off their mouths at the ones they deemed responsible for all their troubles. They’d been fine in Egypt before Moses and Aaron came along pronouncing plagues on their taskmasters. Had they wanted freedom? Of course. Had they cried out to God to rescue them? Absolutely! But this wasn’t what they had in mind. They’d imagined something instantaneously victorious. Blindly schlepping through the wilderness wasn’t it. Day after day of walking, hauling, camping. No map. No ticking off miles. No stops for sightseeing. What was the point of this excursion anyway? Death in the desert and burial in an unmarked grave? They could have comfortably died in Egypt of natural causes with hydrated bodies and full bellies. Who did Moses and Aaron think they were? What were they up to? Had they brought them all out to the desert in a campaign of genocide? Had the people misplaced their faith to their detriment? More importantly, was God even in this or had He abandoned them too? (Exodus 16:2-3)
He hadn’t. Abandoned them, that is. God was still with His people. He was still leading them by the pillars of cloud and fire. He was still providing for their needs. He always would. In His time. They didn’t die from dehydration. They didn’t starve for lack of sustenance. In fact, their clothes didn’t even wear out in the entire time of their wandering. No, God hadn’t abandoned them. Moses and Aaron weren’t out to get them. No one was responsible for their current mental whirlwind except themselves. They had taken their eyes off the Leader and fallen into the myriad pitfalls of evil around them. Whining. Complaining. Worry. Fear. Longing for the treats of Egypt when God was offering them the buffet of His provision. Lashing out at Moses or God or anyone they thought should be able to change their circumstances. None of which would have happened if they had just kept focused on God, kept their faith fully resting in Him. If they hadn’t given the evil one space in their heads. Temptation and evil and sin wouldn’t have lured them in if they’d stayed focused on their Leader. But they didn’t. (Deuteronomy 29:5)
We can hardly fault them. So often we are guilty of the same. It must surely be why Jesus taught us to pray the words, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Admittedly, at first blush it seems like a ridiculous statement. Over and again the Bible reiterates that God doesn’t tempt His people. That’s not His gig. It’s our own sinful desires that get us distracted by the neon sign flashing over our besetting sins, tempting us to come in for a taste. It’s our own inability to stay fully focused on our Leader as we navigate the pathway through temptations, trials and downright evil. It’s the little piece of us that continually caves to the evil one. It’s us. Not Him. God will never lead you into temptations. He won’t. He will lead you past them, through them, around them. But He will never lead you into the middle of temptation and have you pitch your tent. That’s a choice you make yourself. (I Corinthians 10:13; James 1:13-14; Matthew 6:13; Hebrews 2:18; Ephesians 4:27)
Time after time the Israelites would trade their faith for fear at the temptation of the evil one. They’d scream for food and meat and water. They’d act like God couldn’t be trusted. They’d build an idol and rescind their covenant to be His people alone. And God would allow it because God is a gentleman. He will never force you to do His will. He will never manipulate you. He will offer you a choice and accept the choice you make. Even if He knows it will turn out badly. Even though He sees how it will affect your future. Even when He understands how unhappy you will be in the end. God will never force you to go His way, follow His advice, or abandon all to be His disciple. The choice is always yours. Temptations to go haring off down a different path will be plentiful. Evil will beckon you from every side, calling you to be the king of your own kingdom. If you choose them, those things will destroy your relationship with God. They will steal your faith, your trust, your confidence in your Leader and have you throwing tantrums as big as the Israelites when things don’t go your way. But only if you choose them. (Matthew 26:41; Mark 10:17-27)
At a time when we are vigorously encouraged to take charge of our own destiny, to be our own leader, it feels achingly impossible to find the words to express how desperately we need to pray the words Jesus taught us to pray. Daily. Hourly. We need to pray for wisdom to make proper choices. We can’t trust ourselves. Our human hearts are incredibly fickle. The things of the world are so alluring. The bright lights and baubles of temptation have such capacity to distract us and draw us aside. The inky darkness of impermeable evil shrouds every tempting sideroad. We’ll be lost and wandering a spiritual wilderness if we don’t pray the words.
So pray them. Pray. The. Words. Pray that your eyes never stray from His face, that your feet never leave His path. Even when it’s tempting. Even when it’s hard. Even when everyone else is doing it. Pray for strength to keep the faith, to trust His heart. Pray for protection and deliverance on the mountaintops of life as well as the dark valleys. Cover your path with prayer. The path for today. The path for tomorrow. Then, when the bright lights flash, when the siren call sounds, when the darkness crowds your pathway you can walk safely through, unscathed by the virulent evil around you. Pray the words, trust your Leader, and rest in the knowledge that God preserves the souls of the faithful and delivers from evil all those who call on His name. Pray the words. (Psalm 121:3,7; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Psalm 25:15; John 17:15; II Thessalonians 3:3)
Focus, Pray, Trust and Rest!!