Finding Freedom: How God Leads From Rescue to Restنموونە

Day 6: Wandering to Rest

There’s no denying it!

Our journey into the freedom God secures is often filled with trials, testing, and tears. Wandering through a wilderness is never easy. And if you’re like me, you won’t always understand why you’re there or how you got there.

Maybe our own choices brought us here.
Maybe the Lord led us.
Maybe it’s simply the reality of a broken world, full of deserts we must pass through.

I had to come to the place of realizing this truth: being in a wilderness season does not mean God has abandoned me. I have had a hard, long season of wandering on my journey to freedom from captivity to my own thoughts. But I know that if this season happens again, the Lord is faithful and able to rescue me from the wilderness. I also know that no matter how long a wilderness season might be, He will be in the wandering with me. The Father is good, and His promises remain, Yes and Amen!

Whatever the reason that brought you into the wilderness, hear this clearly: YOU WILL NOT WANDER FOREVER.

The Lord will open a door.
He will close this chapter.
This season will end.

Until it does, He is with you!

For Israel, their wandering ended after 40 years of testing, pruning, and preparation.

READ

Joshua 21:43 -45 (ESV)

“Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side... Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made... had failed; all came to pass.”

REFLECT

• How might their season of wandering have prepared Israel for the battles ahead in the Promised Land?
• What do you think it meant that God gave them “rest on every side”?
• It took years for God’s promises to be realized. What would have happened if they had stopped following Him?
• What do you think the rest must have felt like after everything they’d endured?

The Israelites’ wandering ended when their hearts and trust were realigned.

God didn’t waste the wilderness. And neither will He waste yours. Wandering seasons still happen. The waiting, the wilderness, the weariness—it’s all real. But so is the promise: you will not wander forever. The Promised Land was a tangible rest, but it wasn’t the final rest.If it were, there would be nothing left for us to hope for. But God was pointing to a more complete rest. Not just relief from pressure, but restoration for the soul. The writer of Hebrews describes it.

READ

Hebrews 4:1–11 (NLT, excerpts)

4 God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. 2 For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. [a] 3 For only we who believe can enter his rest…6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. 7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today…8 Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. 9 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. 10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. 11 So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

REFLECT

• How would you describe this “rest” in your own words?
• How is it greater than what Israel experienced in the land?
• What part of that rest do you long for most right now?
• What keeps someone from entering this rest?

This rest is more than a nap or a day off.

It’s about COMPLETION, SECURITY & UNSHAKEABLE PEACE.

Israel only got a glimpse of it - but Jesus delivers it in full!

Jesus said:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”—Matthew 11:28–30

Jesus is the source of the rest for which we are longing.

The rest Jesus offers is soul-deep – transcending the mere physical. It’s rest from striving to prove yourself, from the pressure to earn God’s love, and from the exhausting burden of managing life on your own. It’s a rest from being your own rescuer – and, of course, it starts with hope.

Hebrews 6:19

“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”

Jesus Brings Us Home –into God’s presence

Because of Him, we can now “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (Hebrews 4:16). That’s the rest we were made for—to live secure in God’s presence, no longer striving, no longer wandering.

Jesus is our Sabbath rest – not the Sabbath of a day off, but the Sabbath of freedom. When He said on the cross, “It is finished,” He wasn’t just talking about His suffering—He meant the striving was over. The work of redemption was complete. In Him, we don’t just survive the wilderness. We’re led through it—to rest.

Rest isn’t the end of the journey. It’s the center of our life with God.

REFLECT

• Have you been seeking temporary rest to fix a deeper soul-struggle?
• Are you still trying to earn God’s approval instead of receiving it in Christ?
• What would it look like to cast your burdens on Jesus today and let Him carry you?
• Are you weary from sin or shame? Will you trust that Jesus carried it to the cross and offers you rest in His forgiveness?

Rest is a rhythm—of trusting, obeying, surrendering, and simply being with God. It’s choosing to live like the battle has been won, the freedom is secured, and the wilderness has a destination.

Because in Jesus…
It is.
It was.
It does.

Your journey is unique. But you’re not walking it alone. The same God who walked with Israel walks with you. And He is leading you forward—toward rest that will carry you, not just comfort you. That is what God has set you free to enjoy!

Prayer Focus

Father God, you are so good. Lord, thank you that in our wandering, we know that we can find rest and hope in you. Lord, today I ask that you continue to remind us that keeping our eyes fixed on you allows us to remain rested in you. You desire to carry our burdens for us. Help us to continue to give our burdens to you so that we do not stay in the wilderness that we are in. Lord, you are good. We thank you, and we pray that we will continue to seek you, even in the wilderness!

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