The Journey Isn't What It Seems!!!

Personally, I think Moses is one of the most interesting people (and stories) in the whole Bible. Here was a slave child taken in my a member of the Egyptian royal family, schooled in the wisdom of Egypt, and in all things military (Exodus 2). Then one day he saw a soldier/guard beating up a Hebrew slave, and he killed him. Soon afterwards, Moses ends up fleeing to the land of Midian, where he helps some women and marries one of them (Exodus 2). Decades later, he encounters a physical manifestation of God (Yahweh, I AM) in the burning bush (Exodus 3). It is then that God instructs him to be the leader for the Hebrew people and lead them to the land promised to their forefather Abraham. Then Moses becomes that leaders and guides the Hebrews through the desert for 40 years before they are allowed to re-enter the “Promised Land”.

In this discussion I don’t want to focus on the whole story of Moses, or the battles, or the miraculous provision of food and water, or all the times that the Hebrews rebelled against Yahweh.

Rather, I want to have a quick look at the journey Moses made while he was fleeing for his life after killing the Egyptian soldier/guard.

Moses fled from Egypt to the land of Midian. In the map below we see an approximation of that journey.

(Map Source)

Irrespective of the path that Moses took, he journeyed through the Sinai Peninsula to the Midian region, where he would encounter the family of Jethro (a priest of his people). It was adjourned of several hundred miles, and Moses would have encountered great difficulty in finding sources of water and food along the way. yet, he still endured and survived the barren wilderness and arrived in the lands controlled by Jethro and his family.

Moses would stay in the region for about 40 years (Act 7:30) learning where water sources were, how to care for livestock in the barren terrain, and how to grow and find food in such a place. This knowledge, combined with all that he learnt when he was in Egypt would benefit millions in the decades to come. It was also in this foreign land that Moses experienced the presence of God in the form of the burning bush. Nad it is where Moses would receive the instructions for the next phase of his life as leader of the Hebrew nation.

Now, Psalm 37:23 informs us that “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.”

But you might say well Moses sinned and murdered a man (that’s a discussion for another day), or you could say that he made a significant mistake at the very least. Yet, God, in HIS infinite wisdom used Moses’s mistake to propel him into a journey that would send ripple into history until this very day. God ordered Moses’s steps.

The journey that Moses undertook while he was fleeing Pharaoh was not about his survival, rather it was about him learning on the way. Learning things that more than 40 years later he would have to count on again. At the time Moses would have been full of fear, wondering what his future held. In fact, it would not be a stretch of the imagination that Moses probably wondered if his life was worth living anymore or that he was going to die soon because there was no hope for him - this is a position that many of us can recognise.

God uses the mistakes and trials of our lives to guide us and to equip us to do things for the Kingdom of God in the future…even decades in the future. Sometimes we feel like we are spending years (if not decades) of living and wandering around the desert, just like Moses did. However, just like Moses, God is using that time to lead us and help us grow and mature in our faith. The longer you spend learning in the desert, the more time you spend learning and maturing - the greater your role and impact is going to be at some point in your future.

The key is to remain faithful to God, and do not get discouraged when it seems as if your life isn’t adding up to what you wanted. God has HIS plan, and HIS will for your life and even the hard traumatic times have their place. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and when it feels like life is getting too hard, and you are weary from existing in the desert for so long…cry out to Jesus, HE is your mediator to the Heavenly Father.

I pray and hope that if you are in a season of wandering in the desert, of existing in the barren places - draw close to God, ask HIM to reveal HIMSELF to you and to guide you into your future.