DAY 184- BIG PICTURE IN A YEAR - THE WILDERNESS

He led you though the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.

Deuteronomy 8:15

Reading: Deuteronomy 8: 5- 20, Hebrews 12: 5-11

Being disciplined and matured by God is not for sissies. It takes guts, courage, faith and stamina. This is what the Israelites discovered in their Wilderness wanderings.

God used the sacred feasts, the Ten Commandments, the building of the Tabernacle and the Wilderness wanderings themselves to disciple and teach His people not to think of themselves as slaves anymore. This hard work was done so that they could be fit and meet to receive the vast inheritance that God had ahead for them.

It took forty years.

When you accept that God is a father, and as a father He is determined to bring you into all that Jesus has purchased for you on the cross, you will welcome His discipling hand. Just like He disciplined a whole nation thousands of years ago, calling them His “firstborn son”, so He continues to do today. He is not like our earthly fathers who are limited in wisdom; He is our eternal father who patiently encourages us to receive His infinitely wise instruction and correction.

We may not like the fact that He uses wilderness experiences to disciple us but let us remember that it is His goodness that underscores this. He seeks to turn us into mature sons and daughters. Let us not make light of His discipline, nor lose heart, for it is preparing us for inheritance.

Prayer

Thank You for Your promise to be my father. Thank You that as a member of Your family Your plan to mature me will not end till I see You face to face.

For the family

Have a discussion with the children about discipline. Do they see the necessity for it? How do they feel about it?