Numbers 21 - Spiritual Wilderness

What caught my eye today is something that has been said before:

 ⁴ Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, ⁵ and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!” (emphasis mine)

Yet again, the Israelites are complaining about the wilderness. I find this interesting because I started thinking about it in a spiritual sense and the fact is, it is very much the opposite spiritually from the perspective of what is being offered from God.

So in this journey, God has provided them with manna and water (and meat when they grew tired of the manna), God has provided them with God's presence, guiding them on the journey in a pillar of clouds and fire, God has spoken to them and revealed God's glory and performed many miracles. The spiritual blessings are evident and overflowing, and yet the people are in wilderness...even spiritually. The people have hearts filled with fear and complaints and consistently miss the blessings for their own hang-ups.They can't seem to hold on to what God is offering them and outr of fear, choose to be in spiritual wilderness. If only their eyes could be open...

But how about us. Do we live in spiritual wilderness of our own choosing? Do we allow fears and worries to remove us from God's blessing? Have we let a complaining spirit close off our heart to the gifts that God is showering us with?

I know that I have seen times in my life where that has seemed true. And I know that it is my wilderness, that I have chosen, because God has never deserted me or not provided what I needed. I may have gotten caught up in wants and taken the gifts from God for granted, but they have been there.

The next time you feel like you are in a spiritual wilderness, examine your heart first and see if it is a wilderness that you have created. Examine yourself to determine if you are cutting yourself from God or ignoring God's blessings for you. Don't be in spiritual wilderness when the God who loves you deeply and compassionately is beckoning and wooing you.