Wilderness or War? - April 18

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 145; PM Psalm 104; Exod. 13:17–14:4; 2 Cor. 4:16–5:10; Mark 12:18–27

When the Israelites have left Egypt, there is a concern that if they face too many challenges, they will want to return to their previous life under Pharaoh’s rule. The most important story in all of the Hebrew Scriptures, the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and Pharaoh, could be turned around because life is just too challenging! In our reading today from Exodus, God plans to lead the Israelites through the wilderness instead of through the land of the Philistines (of war and conflict) which would cause them to desire their previous situation in bondage. In this story, there are two paths that provide options: insurmountable conflict or the wilderness.

There have been some reoccurring themes in our writings recently. The Old Testament texts have been following the story of the Israelites bondage and trying to break free and return to the lives the Israelites believe they are promised. All of us are trying to make sense of the life we have now found ourselves living. Many of us are lost. Others are finding themselves in predicaments that seem insurmountable to pass. It is interesting to me that this text of pushing us into the wilderness is proclaimed during the Easter Season. At the root of the story, it is about the life that we all want to live or that we think we deserve and are promised.

Maybe there is some comfort in knowing that the spiritual journey of our faith has two options, and both are challenging. Oddly, when we gravitate to faith during challenging periods in our life, faith does not promise an easy answer. Instead, it promises a wilderness. I would even wager, sometimes it promises a war within our own conscience. Much of what we find comforting comes not from answers, but from the commitment to support each other in wandering. The Israelites wandered, but they did not do it alone. And in today’s text, there was a cloud that they understood to be the Lord, leading them and guiding them in the way forward. Maybe we can trust that God is leading us in our wilderness, a journey that is moving us forward too.

- John+

Questions for Reflection

  • How does your life feel like a wilderness? Where do you have control and where have you lost control? Where is God in the midst of this wilderness?

Daily Challenge

  • If you have named something that is out of our control, pray to God to handle that concern. At the end of the day, ask yourself, has this helped me in my faith.

John Burruss