Grace in the wilderness.

Deuteronomy 2:25
This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.

Sometimes it’s hard for us to fully understand the reality of God’s amazing grace and provision for our lives. In preparation for their forty-year stint in the wilderness, God went out ahead of the children of Israel and filled their enemies with fear. There were some areas (like the land given to Esau and given to Lot) that the Lord commanded His people to pass through. But the wilderness, where they would spend forty years, He prepared for conquest.

God knew that Israel would refuse to enter into the Promised Land. He knew that only Caleb and Joshua would bring back a good report and that the other ten spies would persuade the entire nation to recoil in fear of their enemies. Because He knew this would happen, He graciously provided the wilderness for His rebellious children.

He did what? Yes, God in His infinite wisdom caused a spirit of fear to fall upon all of the enemies of Israel that inhabited the wilderness so that His people could conquer and destroy them. If they (Israel) would refuse to have the Promised Land, God thought at least they could have the wilderness, free from enemies. He allowed His people to defeat the kings who ruled over the area so that they could posses the land.

It is my belief, however, that God didn’t do this on the behalf of His rebellious children, but on behalf of Caleb and Joshua, and all of the literal children that did not take part in deceiving the masses. Because no one could enter into the Promised Land until the generation of crybabies passed away, God had to provide safety and security for His still-chosen people. He is just, according to His word, and cannot break a promise.

Friends, today we are the generation of Caleb and Joshua. We are the literal children waiting for the time in the wilderness to pass so that we can inherit the Promised Land. Jesus came to prepare the way for us, to strike fear and anguish in the hearts of our enemies. He knew that we too would have to wander in the wilderness waiting for a generation of nay-sayers and scoffers to pass away.

The Blessed Hope in Christ that we have is the same Hope that Joshua and Caleb had in the wilderness. It is not the hope (wishful thinking) that someday the Promised Land will eventually be ours, but rather the hope that comes with knowing it is already ours. We have, as Christians, a joyful and confident expectation that we are already heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. We also have the knowledge that Christ Himself drove out our enemy, Satan, and provided this land for us to posses until our entrance into Heaven.

I don’t know about you, but this land is my land! Jesus has prepared the way for me to have safety and security until the time when all the crybabies pass away. So, Christian, rise up and enjoy the wilderness that God has graciously prepared for you!