God's People Wandered the Desert Wastelands
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.
23 Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
33 He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
35 He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;
36 there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;
38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.
39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
40 he who pours contempt on nobles
made them wander in a trackless waste.
41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.
42 The upright see and rejoice,
but all the wicked shut their mouths
43 Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
John 14:6
Jesus is the Way
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
When I hear or read the word wandering, it denotes to me a way of traveling without much of a goal, or to do something aimlessly...
God had made a covenant years ago with Abraham...Abraham's descendants would grow and be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore...God had promised Abraham's descendants a land of milk and honey...They were promised land in the area now know as Israel...It is the Promised Land...When God's people left Egypt for the Promised Land, it was not a quick and easy trip...God's people who had left the slavery of Egypt and with smiles and happiness, turned somewhat quickly into grumbles and complaints...They wandered in the desert for forty years...The people with Moses leading the way, at times grumbled and complained on there way to their new homeland...Their travels stall in the desert...
God's people wandered again when He was leading His people back from Babylon to Israel after they were exiled from their country...Again they wandered in the desert...And as more of His people traveled away from their country and back they would travel the desert...God's people would travel to isolated regions, and with no towns or cities...The travelers would see little water, few trees, and see much barren land in their travels in the nearby desert wastelands...
And as God had His different people travel the wilderness, and desert wastelands, He was near...This was His plan...And we learn so much from Him and His Plans...God has His reasons for these things...
Travel is tough and being in the desert with little water, little food, and little shade is a hardship which many of His people has experienced...His people were tested by the travels in the desert...And as one reflects on God taking His people through the tough and troubled desert -I think we get a picture of life...We often do wander through life...Sometimes it feels aimlessly...We sometimes find life tough and isolated...We thirst and hunger for things in life -often when things seem and look barren in our own life...Life often takes us from the comfortable to the uncomfortable...We grumble and complain about it...
All the while in our lives, God is near...When we realize that God alone is good and that He LOVE's us, we should give thanks to the LORD...There is another One, God tested in the desert...It was His Son...His Son grew hungry in the tough desert, and survived not only the desert but also the evil one was there...God sent His Son to save us...Sending His Son to us and for us is another part of His Plan...And as we think about these things, we sometimes feel uncomfortable, and grumble and complain...The path of life is not easy, but it is easier when we praise God and thank Him everyday...He sent His Son to show us the Way of Life...Life is better when we follow the Way, the Way of His Son...