Exodus 15:22-25. 22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
What do you think the Hebrews were thinking would happen after they crossed the Red Sea? Now that they are free from slavery surely God will lead them into a bountiful and beautiful life. A life of ease and pleasure. There’s no way that after walking through the waters of the sea they could have ever imagined entering a land without water. How ironic.
What did you think your life in Christ was going to be? Did you receive Christ thinking a life of blessing and prosperity was just up ahead? A life free of doubt and fear? Maybe even a life free of any real suffering?
If you’ve been saved for more than three days, then you probably have figured out that our life in Christ is the wilderness and not the promised land. However, many Christians simply aren’t ready for life in the desert. They want easy and instant change. But what God is guiding us into is a lifetime of slow growth and progress. A spiritual life of perpetual hunger and thirst.
Think about Christ’s own life for a moment. He passed through the waters of baptism, saw the sky open up, heard the Father speak love and affirmation over him, the Spirit came upon him like a dove, and then…off into the desert. Driven east of Eden. Forty days of nothing but trial and temptation. The whole time God is silent while Satan is screaming. Jesus is suffering, but he is also being made perfect in that suffering (Heb. 2:10).
Christian, this is our same path in Christ. Why? Because we must learn to love God simply for who he is and not for how much he can “bless” us. We must learn that all of our spiritual blessings are found in Christ and Christ is found in the wilderness.
Let me ask you, how much of your spiritual growth do you measure by what you do for God? Changing habits or practices. Adding spiritual disciplines. Stopping bad behaviors. None of this is a bad thing, but it is a spiritually immature thing. God wants us to grow into trusting who we ARE far above what we DO. And that is why he leads us into the desert. Jesus entered the desert and was tempted with things to DO. But Jesus passed the grueling test by relying on who he IS – the Son of God. This too is our test. Our process. Our growth into true holiness. Holiness that comes from trusting who we are in Christ. Holiness that can come only in the wilderness. Unless you understand this your Christian life, like the Hebrews of Exodus, will become bitterness and grumbling.
So we can pause here and ask, what have you complained about today? Your grumbling reveals your object of faith. It reveals what you are trusting in for today’s salvation. Big or small, has it replaced Christ in your heart’s desire?
To live is Christ is a journey into the desert. The place where we learn to desire Christ himself more than anything else. The place where only he can satisfy. Only he can make our bitter waters sweet again as we learn to desire his cross more than we desire any “blessing.”
You: What have you been complaining about lately? What is your wilderness?
You in Christ: How does knowing that God IS transforming you in Christ help you to pursue holiness over “blessings?”
Christ in you: In what way can you feel your desire for Christ increasing in your wilderness?
To Live is Christ 