The book of Joshua has fascinate stories that not only translate us into a certain frame of time in history, but make us to identify ourselves with the present situation many of us are facing as well. Living in desert, besieged by enemies all around, stepping over serpents and scorpions, eating every day the same food – that thing they called “manna”, drinking water from the rocks, wearing the same clothing and shoes, for 40 years the Israelites had a trajectory of life that none of us would pick.
The transitional segment of life in the wilderness was a very hard experience when they had no option, but learning through a high cost of enduring, they used their faith. That amount of faith they got little by little, was equivalent to the innumerous signs and wonders they performed in the desert. There was no option: They had to live by faith, which proportioned them to have the sea divided, and crossing it in dried ground; to having their hunger for meat satisfied; water coming from a rock; all their enemies turned down; to conquer lands, cities, kings and kingdoms; to pursue, overtake and possess great wealth as large as herds of livestock, silver, gold and much more. In spite of conquering all of this, they still had to eat from the manna from the heaven. God’s portion of meal was supposed to be picked up from the fields, every day.And that was it.
Finishing that 40 year journey of suffering and conquering, after crossing the Jordan River, also in dried ground; baptized for a new style of living to enter in the Promised Land, God’s people is now finally ready to enjoy their new life at the other side of the river. It says in Joshua 5: 10-12 “In the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.” (NIV)
The manna consumed in the wilderness was suited to fit their needs at that time in journey. It was a temporary resource given miraculously by God, from the heaven – literally – for that specific season. It was not designed and traced to endure forever. Soon, very soon, in God’s appointed time, it was to be ceased, to be exchanged for real food, at the other side of the river. Even given by God, they were sick and tired of that food! The same menu served every single day.
Many of us certainly identify ourselves with this beautiful story. Immersed in a chaotic financial and economical breakdown, how many of us got lost in the desert of having nothing to enjoy? We lost our career jobs, struggle to find other ones; lost our businesses; lost our investments; our houses are facing foreclosures, we can be evicted from our own homes at any time, we don’t have where to go; our relationships are been broken up; our children involved with drugs, alcohol and other illegal activities; we lost friends, the best of them; we lost contacts; we got sick without insurance, no way to have a decent treatment; we had hair loss, weight loss. We lost dignity, our names, our credit, our word; we lost the enchantment for life itself. Many could not face changes in the desert of possibilities to endure to get to the other side of the river. They could not resist, and in a fatal despair ended up taking their own lives, with no hope for the future.
Even having been such a transitional phase, a time of provisions and miracles, it is not God’s intention to have us wandering in the desert forever. Nevertheless, since we are to eat from the manna and be thankful to God, let’s make the most of it. It is not easy to dribble the economy and deceive recession in order to survive, but we still can learn from the experiences of living in the desert, from eating the same food every day. What we experiencein the wilderness can improve our faith, our resistance and make us stronger and mature. If we take advantage of it we can amplify our vision and enlarge our territory of possibilities.The Israelites can prove that. In the desert, they learned about the 10 Commandments, they were instructed to worship the only God and trust Him; they learned to put their faith in action and they possessed the land.
God is working in our favor and direction, providing his financial support by sending people to help us in time of need; providing us with small jobs as a bridge to the next level; placing in our way leaders and preachers to encourage us when we are in distress and despair; supplying with new friends to share their love and affection with us. We should be thankful for the manna God is pouring out in our lives by His Word and His Scripture that speaks directly to us, to strengthen our spirit and encourage our faith every day. We should be thankful for the opportunity of services that can manifest the Glory of God in many aspects oflife.
Let’s take advantage of living in the desert for a while; it has its pay off. The provision God has granted to His children is far beyond his love and care. Jesus called the manna God gave His children in the desert as “bread of heaven” John 6:31. For those who are facing hardships, the manna or the same day food, the ‘crumbs’ fallen from the table to feed our lives in this season will certainly cease. This struggling situation will be only for a period of time. It will stop. It has to stop. Don’t give up, don’t give in, don’t dismay, and don’t be on your own heart; keep yourself rooted in the Word of God. We are almost there… It will come to pass…
That day, when we cross the River, at the other side, God guarantees that we will eat from the fruit of the land – unleavened bread and roasted grain.This is a new year; let’s move forward, stretching out our faith, climbing up to the next level. Let’s learn from the lessons by living in the desert,by being on alert and diligent, working our manners to see life,adding every day hope to endure.
(Dinaura Barcelos; Journalist and Writer)
