January: Purpose in the Wilderness

The Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness — the longest recorded time period in the Bible.

Their time in the wilderness wasn’t by choice or by accident. They didn’t stumble upon their wilderness. They were commanded into it. God commanded the Israelites to set out and led them to the place He needed them to be in.

And what did they do there?

They complained. They disobeyed. They wandered.

And what did God do there?

He provided. He protected. He guided.

Though their time in the wilderness was a punishment, a result of their disobedience to God, it was also a necessary part of their formation as a nation. It further proved God’s power and perfect timing, and His unceasing provision. It made the Israelites whole and complete. It transformed them.

Our wilderness may look different from the Israelites’ wilderness, and it may look different from each other’s wilderness experience, but trust this: God often moves us to experience our own “wandering in the wilderness” so that we, too, can learn to trust His power, provision and perfect timing. So that we can experience a season of testing, transition and transformation.

There is purpose in the wilderness.

This month we’re going to study the Israelite’s time in the wilderness in the Book of Numbers. Here are the daily readings for the month of January: