It’s tempting to feel superior to the Israelites who wandered aimlessly in the wilderness for so long, doubting God, always complaining, sometimes rebelling and often sinning. They experienced miracle after miracle, they had a leader who heard God’s voice and received clear instructions for them, they had the tabernacle in their midst, and they had a cloud to follow by day and a pillar of fire to follow at night. How could they possibly go wrong?
Feeling superior to those foolish wilderness wanderers lasts right up until the moment we realize the story is about us! What’s more, we have no excuse when we forget our directions and stray from God’s will. Unlike those Israelites whose experience of God was outward and subject always to natural distractions and physical barriers, we have an inner cloud and pillar of fire and a complete library in a single book that is easy to own and fully portable, containing vivid illustrations like the wilderness wanderings and all the teaching and instruction we need pertaining to life and godliness, plus “exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
With us, getting lost is a choice. Choose wisely, now more than ever.