When the Israelites were journeying through the wilderness en route to the promised land there was clearly a journey and clearly a destination. God says there are dangers in both. Looking at Deuteronomy chapter 8 the overarching command is not to forget God:
v. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
v. 11-16 “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.
Notice the certainty of the Israel in the promised land. They are still in the desert yet God addresses them as if it's over, as if their possession of the promised land has already taken place. When God promises to move his people somewhere he will provide and he will accomplish what he says. Nothing can stop this from occurring.
Another thing worth pointing out is that while the Israelites are still in the wilderness fraught with dangers (consider: "great and terrifying wilderness, fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water") God was already addressing the danger that they would be facing in a land when they finally did take possession of it. What is this danger? That they would forget God. God seems to understand that forgetfulness is an issue in struggle and in comfort. When you suffer want the temptation is to forget God. When you enjoy abundance the same temptation applies, to forget God.
Consider verse 3
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
As I think about GCF we can say that we are on the journey and haven't reached our destination, particularly as it relates to finding a place we can call home and meeting at normal times for worship. Sure, we don't face scorpions and thirst in our journey, but there is exhaustion.
Last Sunday night our congregation wrestled with various options for meeting times and locations. Each one was flawed in some substantial way. It helped me to see that our church has perhaps reached a point of exhaustion when it comes to where and when we meet. For some its the exhaustion of making 4pm on a Sunday afternoon work. For others it's the exhaustion of carting our morning gear in to pull off a service. It feels like having a thousand miles left on our road trip and only having half a tank of gas left.
This is where verse three is particularly relevant. Man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word of God. God is the God who provides manna which is our daily bread. He doesn't give us a freezer full of it, he provides it as we need it because "our daily bread" is the pattern of Scripture and therefore the pattern of God. In God's kingdom the journey is just as important as the destination. Both have equal potential for failure which means each has it's unique call to faith. On the journey, we must learn to live by the daily bread that God gives. God is doing more than merely working in the individuals of our congregation, he is working on our congregation as a whole and molding us into a people who learn to live by the manna from heaven that God graciously provides, just when we need it.
So even though we may not have any idea when we will finally reach our destination it certainly helps to gain perspective on how God is working on us en route. Perhaps the sooner we can embrace it the sweeter the lessons will be. Let's not miss what God is up to. He has good things for us and we are eager not only to see our destination but to see his provision along the way.
In Christ,
Pastor Kevin
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