Beautiful People, 

The 40-year journey the Israelites took in the wilderness has a few lessons on joy. The wilderness is a harsh place to sojourner. Resources, essential to survival, are limited. Water and food are scarce, yet it is in the wilderness where God abundantly blessed His wayward children. God's provision sustained Israel in a place of utter desolation and misery. For bread, manna was given to them. For water, a rock turned into an oasis. God's provisions stretched to the very clothes they wore. "During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet" (Deuteronomy 29:5). God took care of the essentials. Now, the beauty of the wilderness is deeply understood and appreciated when we connect it with the narrative of Jesus. Without food and water, we would starve. God has provided the bread and water of life in our spiritual journey—Jesus Christ.

God has provided holistic provisions that make this journey sweeter as we journey through this world. However, this was not the focal point for today's GMU. The provisions of God are amazing, but I want to focus on what the wilderness truly provides for us. The beauty of the wilderness experience is that it strips us down until we have nothing to cling to except for Christ. The wilderness reveals all fake gods and their empty promises to get us to a land that is flowing with milk and honey. The wilderness presents us an opportunity for wholehearted surrender to Christ as the real source of our sustentation. The wilderness is where a Holy God writes His laws and commandments on our hearts. It is in the wilderness where we are given the call and mission. It is in the wilderness where we triumph over sin. God will find you in the wilderness of life and bid you follow Him into His promised land. The beauty and joy of the wilderness are trust and surrender in God's character and love as He leads the way back home. Take heart, friends, Jesus is in the wilderness with you, and wherever Jesus is, there is peace. Just as He took care of the Israelites, He will take care of you. Trust that.