I have been very blessed during this time of Lent as I read my daily Bible readings and the Bible reading plan from Lent: Mosaic plan as well. There is a strange correlation, not wholly clear but slowly tying together, as the readings from the Old and New Testaments coalesce. God planted the Garden and placed the man there:
"Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made."(Genesis 2:8 NLT).
Later on, after the children of Israel had been in bondage to Egypt for hundreds of years, God seeks out Moses, calls him and commands him to go and tell Pharaoh
"And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, "The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God." (Exodus 3:18 ESV)
Through many signs and miracles, God establishes His power and authority and brings the children of Israel out of Egypt, and to Him in the wilderness where He then tests them. He tests them so harshly that they long for the meat pots of Egypt, apparently forgetting the acerbity of their trials while there.
"And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." (Exodus 16:2, 3 ESV)
At every trial, around every corner, God already had a path and plan laid ahead of time. He provided water every time there was a need:
"When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" 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. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer." (Exodus 15:23-26 ESV).
Time after time, God proves Himself faithful.
Yet the people, not unlike us, were so very dull to learn. Despite turn after turn since before they even left Egypt, God had been with them, listening all along. I can't help but wondering what would have happened in the children of Israel's case, if they had done what God required- to learn to trust and live by every word that comes from the mouth of God, and not simply rely on bread alone for sustenance.
In my foolish, youthful pride as I read these stories long ago, I used to think that if I saw the plagues of Egypt, if I saw the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, if I saw the Red Sea being parted, if I saw Manna being rained down and clouds of quail being poured out---I used to think I would have reacted differently and "known better" than to grumble. After years of blundering along in my own mini "wildernesses" though, I have seen with my own eyes how foolish I was to even think that, because I am truly no different than the children of Israel. I'm just as thick headed. And God has been patient, and always proved Himself faithful though He tries my heart. How would I know He could be trusted to provide, if the affliction did not come?
So, every day, we have a new opportunity to see for ourselves. Though we may not be wandering in a literal wilderness, we face our own trials, and are posed the same questions. Our reactions, our hearts thoughts---whether we choose to grumble, or pray, can certainly make a difference. He has proved Himself faithful at each instance, whether we speak or complain too soon.
Therefore Paul's admonishment, like granite words, echoes the Spirit of what God seeks in us and can be relied on, like standing upon a rock.
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)
What we see in the Valley is not the end. Like the Psalmist says, He is leading us through the Valley of the shadow of death. I do not think any of us can begin to imagine what the view will be like when we reach the Mountain top, especially during our afflictions, but take heart.
Like C. S. Lewis says:
"Further up, and further in!"
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