Journey from the desert to the Promised Land

This morning at church I happened to come upon a passage of verses that were so timely they brought a smile to my face. Love when God shines down His love at just the right moments! This is what I read:

"Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. ² Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
⁶ Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; ⁹ a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you."

[Deuteronomy 8:1-10]

You may be wondering why these verses spoke so much to my heart. Well, it's because I'm living them.

I shared previously about discipline. Today I'd like to share more from my journey in this area.

Those that know me well know that the Lord has been leading me on a journey of refining and testing this year. Verse 2 talks about how He led the Israelites 40 years through the desert to humble them, to test them, to know their hearts more fully. While I pray that my journey isn't quite so lengthy, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my Father is humbling and testing me during this season, asking me if I am willing to give Him my all, my heart. He has certainly been humbling me [verse 3] and causing me to hunger, but also showing me that my hunger hasn't always been for Him like it should be. Yet when my hunger for Him is great, He has never failed in providing me with bread from His Word that continually encourages and fills me up. Those moments are so precious to me!

Verse 4 reminds me that He alone is the one who sustains me on this journey. He is faithful in meeting my needs and gives my feet strength to keep walking (or running!) This is all a part of the discipline process. As a Father, our Lord disciplines us [verse 5.] One of the many lessons I have been learning thus far is that He is worthy of my praise and I am to bless His name at all times, walking in His ways and revering Him [verse 6.]

And then we come to verses 7-9 where He brings us into a good and beautiful land, overflowing with blessings. Picture the desert: parched, continuing as far as the eye can see, fruitless. Imagine 40 years of this. And then after years of that suffering, moving into a land far more beautiful and bountiful than anyone could've imagined. A land of plenty, a land worthy of the long wait. A land where "you will lack nothing" [verse 9.] This is a tremendous encouragement to me, a reminder that the wait I am on will not last forever. My Father did not forget that I am still following Him through the desert and that I am longing to arrive in the Promised Land. He will bring me to it. I simply have to keep my eyes fixed on Him alone as I continue on step-by-step in anticipation of the abundant blessings He has waiting in store for me.

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Verse 10 reminds us that we are to praise our Lord and provider when we have eaten and are satisfied. Too often we fail to thank Him when He answers our prayers, but let's not forget to praise Him in the end. He is so worthy of our thanks.

The journey my Father has been taking me on has been far from easy, but I have been learning so much along the way and for that I am grateful. I look with anticipation for the day when He brings me into the land of beauty, abundance, and blessings far beyond what my heart has imagined. To God be the glory!