Let’s look at an example of some people who were led into the wilderness by God. How about the Exodus generation? After they left their homes BY FAITH, they were led to a situation that had no visible means of escape. They had no place to go, but that’s exactly where God wanted them! They had stepped out in faith, and now God wanted to develop their faith so it would grow. The only way to have your faith developed is to be placed in a truly hopeless situation, where you will have to trust in the Lord COMPLETELY.

There is a specific way that God wants you to respond when He leads you into the wilderness. Here is a perfect example of how NOT to respond!

Just for background, the Hebrews had left their homes in Egypt, because Moses had kept reminding them of the promises of God. They arrived at the Red Sea, with mountain ranges on both sides of them. Then the Egyptian Army shows up right behind them. So what do they do? They accuse their leader, and wish they had never left Egypt:

Exodus 14:11-12

11 Then they said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?

12 "Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, "Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

The wilderness was designed to put their faith to the test. They would have to learn to let go and depend entirely upon the Lord. What should you do when you find yourself in the wilderness with no provision? Pray! That’s exactly what they tried to do – but their prayers were simply cries to the Lord with a lack of faith. They considered the reality of their circumstances, and considered their situation impossible. The thought of deliverance defied all logic and reason! But faith is often exactly opposed to logic and reason – because ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD! (Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23, Luke 18:27)

Why did their faith fail? Why did they accuse Moses? Because of FEAR. Fear is the result of failing to walk by faith. It’s simply the result of failing to trust in everything the Lord has promised.

Exodus 14:10

10 As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD.

They saw the reality of their situation, and became frightened! They failed to have faith that the Lord would deliver them to a land “flowing with milk and honey” like He had promised them. Without faith, the cry to the Lord will do you no good!

How do you react when God leads you into the wilderness? Do you look at the reality of your situation? Do you have fear and worry? Or do you put your faith in the One for Whom all things are possible?

Next time we’ll look at what Moses says to the people.