Finding Freedom: How God Leads From Rescue to RestНамуна

Day 5: Facing the Wilderness

Move On!

That was God’s command to Israel—and they obeyed. Despite their fears, they took that next step and were rewarded by witnessing God crush their captors and secure their freedom. But their story didn’t end with victory at the sea. Now they faced a new challenge: the journey in freedom. For them, that included a wilderness.

As we continue to learn from Israel’s journey, take a moment to examine your own wild and desolate places.

Are you walking through a wilderness season?

How is the Lord leading you there?

What might He be teaching you?

God doesn’t desire for us to wander aimlessly. He wants us to journey with purpose.When God led Israel to the edge of the Promised Land, they refused to trust Him and enter. As a result, they spent the next 40 years wandering the desert instead of enjoying their freedom in a beautiful land. But their detour wasn’t in vain.

At the end of that season, Moses reminded them: —Deuteronomy 8:2

"Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey His commands.”

Israel’s marathon journey was not wasted. God desired to use that time as a season to grow their faith and shape their obedience so that they would be ready for the blessings He wanted to give them. But while they were in the thick of it, they were exhausted, worn out, and had reached their limit. I’ve run several marathons—and even two ultramarathons. But I cannot fathom wandering for forty long years without a home. But I have wandered – and I bet you have, too.

Moving on with God into freedom isn’t the end of the story.

Often, it leads us straight into a season of waiting or wandering as we figure out “what’s next.” You may not be in a literal desert, but you might know what it feels like to long for direction, clarity, or breakthrough.Be encouraged: Israel did not wander alone, and neither do we.

Throughout those forty years, God’s power and presence never left His people. He provided for them, protected them, and reminded them constantly that He was with them—even when they couldn’t see the way forward. He made them a promise.

READ

Deuteronomy 1:30–31

"The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw Him do in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.”

REFLECT

• How does God describe Himself?
• What stands out to you about the way a father cares for a child?
• In your own wilderness or waiting, how have you experienced God’s fatherly care?
• What promises in this passage give you hope in your current season?

What a gift to know that we are never alone. The God who leads us out of captivity also leads us through the wilderness.

READ

Romans 8:31–32 (NIV)

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

Hebrews 13:5–6

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So, we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”

Matthew 6:31–32

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’… Your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

REFLECT

• How do these verses show that God is fighting for you?
• What assurance do you find in these promises?
• How can you be confident that you’re not alone, even in seasons of uncertainty?
• Which truth about the Father’s heart encourages you most today?

If I’m honest, my own wilderness has often threatened to lead me back into mental captivity. Even though Christ has secured my freedom, I sometimes live like a prisoner to my own thoughts.

I must surrender them—again and again.

Some days, it’s once. Some days, it’s hourly. Some days, it feels minute-by-minute. And some days I give in to doubts that I will make it through the wilderness at all.

And yet, I have never been on my own. I have seen the Lord grow me. I’ve learned how deeply I need Him. I’ve seen that He is my true source of freedom and abundant life. I have experienced His fatherly care. I have seen that without him – I cannot do this.

As I have surrendered to that care, I have experienced the work of God as Isreal did. It can be said of my journey, too, that God was “humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey His commands.” Every step has been a journey worth taking.

And here is something beautiful: God has even allowed me to walk alongside others in the same wilderness. And because of that, I can encourage them to move from wandering in their wilderness to growing in Christ.

“All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.” —Colossians 1:10

Growing in Christ doesn’t mean life suddenly gets easy or that there will be no more wandering. But it does mean you can be confident: the Lord goes with you!

Prayer Focus

Father God, thank you for your guidance in our lives. Thank you that even in the wilderness you are good. We know that this wilderness is hard, and we know that as we walk into freedom that there will be times of wondering again. We can trust though that no matter where we are, no matter what sea we need you to part, that you are good and faithful to us. So, we thank you and we will continue to remember that we are never alone. This fight is not won here; it has already been won by you! We love you Father, Amen.