In the Wilderness

When you find yourself walking a dusty road of disappointment, your reserves of courage and patience dwindling, know this — you are not in this wilderness without purpose.

God allows (or leads) us to contend with a difficult situation, person or condition, for reasons that we will discover in that very wilderness — if we are brave enough to face them.

As the Israelites made their way through the four wildernesses to the Promised Land, they complained and grumbled incessantly, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” The wilderness, for them, was where the Lord seemed to be testing them; they could not understand why he would take them out of Egypt to perish in a situation that seemed far worse.

But the truth is that God took the Israelites the ‘longer way’ — through the wilderness — to save them from battles that they were not ready for.

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, ‘If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt’. So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.” [Exodus 13:17–18]

God knew the limitations of the Israelites’ nascent faith — he knew that, faced with the prospect of enemies all around, they would want to return to Egypt and slavery. And so he led them through the wilderness. In his letter to the Corinthians, St Paul says, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” [1 Corinthians :13]

God’s ‘way out’ of the test is the place he leads us to trust him. The wilderness was not the testing ground that the Israelites believed it to be — it was ‘trusting ground’.

In the wilderness, where shepherds take their flocks to graze, the Lord would teach his people to depend on him. Far from the noise of civilisation, God can teach us to listen for, and recognise his voice. It was only after God had shown the Israelites his power (by drowning Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea), his mercy (by turning the bitter water at Marah sweet), his love (providing not only bread, but also meat for them to eat) and his faithfulness (by giving them water from a rock), that he allowed them to face war with the armies of Amalek.

When God finally calls us to the test, he is testing the faith that he has ALREADY given us.

This truth applies to Abraham’s great test too. Abraham hadn’t always trusted God. When God first told his 90 year old wife, Sarah that she would bear a child, Abraham laughed with her. And when Sarah gave him her slave Hagar to try and accelerate the fulfilment of God’s promise, Abraham agreed.

Abraham hadn’t always trusted God — but God knew when he was ready to.

“After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” [Genesis 22:1–2]

Scripture tells us of the moment of Abraham’s testing. “After these things, God tested Abraham.” After what ‘things’? It is only after God has shown Abraham that he has reason to trust him, that he tests him. Let us unpack the terms that make the time of Abraham’s testing — and ours — favourable.

God decides to test us ONLY when he has ALREADY given us:

1. The Promise of His Love: God had already promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and have descendants that would outnumber the stars. In Abraham’s time, where the worth and value of a man came from the tribe he fathered, could there be a greater promise of love? Are you aware of God’s loving promises to you? “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” [Jeremiah 29:11]
2. A Glimpse of His Power: Abraham had already witnessed two powerful miracles that testified to God’s ability to keep his promises. Through God’s intervention, Abraham had procured not only a legitimate heir (despite his wife’s age and years of barrenness) but also a covenant with King Abimelech giving him land rights in Gerar, even though he was a foreigner. Have you been witness to the power of God in your life and around you? “Ever since the creation of the world God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been seen and understood through the things God has made.” [Romans 1:20]
3. A Taste of Our Helplessness: God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac after his other son Ishmael from Hagar has already been banished, leaving him with no alternate heir. God asks us to trust him when we have tried everything else and have no back-up — so that his strength may be more clearly manifest in our weakness. “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.” [Exodus 14:14]
4. An Experience of His Mercy: By the time of his testing, Abraham has experienced the mercy of God multiple times. When he tried to pass off his wife Sarah as his sister, causing King Abimelech to take her as his own wife, Abraham tries to justify his actions by saying, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place.’ Ironically, God reveals the truth to Abimelech so that he can show Abraham that he was wrong — that this was a place where even the king feared God! God is merciful to Abraham, allowing him to be reprimanded in the gentlest way, never revoking the promise he has made him. Have you experienced moments of God’s mercy in your life, receiving what you haven’t deserved? “The Lord waits to be gracious to you; he will rise up to show mercy to you.” [Isaiah 30:18]
5. Proof of His Faithfulness: Abraham’s prayers were already being heard by God. Upon his fervent intercession, God had spared Lot and his family, showing Abraham his faithfulness. When God calls us to the test, he has already shown us, through prayers answered in the past, that he is faithful to us. “Not one thing has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.” [Joshua 23:14]

If you feel like you are being tested, dear friend, know that God has already shown you his nature, his mercy and his faithfulness — all to give you the strength to trust in him. “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” [1 Corinthians 10:13]

While Abraham readied to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God, his son asked him, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” [Genesis 22: 7–8] Abraham knew that God would provide the lamb — the way out of the test.

When God sends his angel to stop Abraham from sacrificing Isaac on the altar, he says, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” [Genesis 22:12] God says “Now I know…” But an omniscient God already knows all, including that Abraham would, this time, not hesitate to do what he had been asked. Who, then, was the test for?

The test is not for GOD to know whether we are faithful — but for US to know.

If we fail the test, God shows us how faithful and merciful he is, despite our unfaithfulness. If we pass the test, we are further strengthened in our faith by knowing God’s presence with us through it, and experiencing the way out he provided for us.

Whether we pass or fail, there is a purpose to the testing — not God’s satisfaction, but our edification. If you believe you are being tested, know that it is because God has faith in you, even if you are not convinced of your faith in him.

As you face the Lord’s gracious testing, may he strengthen and remind you of the reasons he has already given you to trust in him.