God Who Becomes a Way in the Wilderness

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.  Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.” (Dt 8:2-4)
Today, I would like to share God’s word under the theme, "God Who Becomes a Way in the Wilderness."
One of the words we frequently use when sharing our lives is wilderness. When faced with difficult hardships or trials in life, we often say, "I feel like I am in the wilderness right now," or "I feel like God has placed me in a wilderness."
And it’s not just us. Countless people of God recorded in the Bible spent time in the wilderness. The Israelites were also listening to Moses preach in the wilderness. Then, why does God not always keep His people in green pastures, but sometimes makes them walk the paths of the wilderness?
 
Misconceptions About the Wilderness
Before answering this question, there are misconceptions about the wilderness that we need to address first.
The first misconception concerns the reason, purpose, and period of the wilderness. When encountering wilderness-like seasons, some Christians think that God has placed them there because they did something wrong.
Of course, there is some truth to this. For the first generation of the Exodus, the 40 years in the wilderness was a time of judgment. Because they disobeyed God's command at Kadesh to enter the Promised Land, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years as a punishment and all perished.
However, that 40-year period in the wilderness was not what God had originally planned. The time God initially intended to train the Israelites in the wilderness was not that long.
The wilderness journey of the Israelites began immediately after the Exodus. After delivering them from Egypt through the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, God led them straight to Mount Sinai. The journey from the Exodus to Mount Sinai took a total of two months. Exodus 19:1 says,
 “On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt - on that very day - they came to the Desert of Sinai.” (Ex 19:1)
Mount Sinai was a very important place because God made a covenant with the Israelites there. At that very moment, God and the Israelites entered into an official relationship. God became their God, and the people of Israel became His people. In a sense, Mount Sinai was like a wedding venue. God became the bridegroom, and the people of Israel became His bride.
After making the covenant with the Israelites, God gave them the Law to follow as His people. He also commanded them to build the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was a symbol of God's presence.
It took about 10 months to complete the Tabernacle. This is Exodus 40:17:
 “So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.” (Ex 40:17)
Here, "the second year" refers to the second year starting from the day the Israelites left Egypt. Since they reached Mount Sinai on the third month after the Exodus, and the Tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year, it is estimated that it took about 10 months from their arrival at Mount Sinai to the completion of the Tabernacle.
When the Tabernacle was completed, the glory of God covered it. About two months later, the cloud began to lift from the Tabernacle. It was a signal to set out. Finally, having made all preparations, the Israelites began to march toward the Promised Land.
Afterward, God led the Israelites to a region called Kadesh Barnea. It was located on the southern border of Canaan, serving as the gateway into the Promised Land.
To summarize up to this point, we can see that the time God originally planned for the Israelites to stay in the wilderness was not that long. The entire period was only about a year and a half, and they spent most of that time learning God's Word and building the Tabernacle at Mount Sinai rather than wandering around.
In other words, the purpose of the wilderness originally planned by God was training, not punishment. The time for the Israelites to prepare as God's people in the wilderness was a relatively short period—less than two years.
Then why do we perceive the wilderness as a place of long-term punishment? As mentioned earlier, it is because the Israelites disobeyed God's command to enter and conquer the Promised Land at Kadesh. Since the spies they sent explored the land for a total of 40 days, God counted one day as one year, causing them to stay and die in the wilderness for a total of 40 years.
However, that applied only to the first generation of the Exodus, not to the generation of their children. The second generation of the Exodus refers to those who were under 20 years old when God made the covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai, or those who were born in the wilderness.
For them, the wilderness was not a place of "punishment" but a time of "training." During these 40 years, they experienced who God is. Within His provision and faithfulness, they were built up as God’s people who relied only on Him, loved Him, and followed Him.
Still, the reason the training lasted so long was fundamentally due to the rebellion of the first generation. The wilderness training originally planned by God is not that long. These are the facts we need to know about the wilderness. The wilderness is fundamentally a space for training, and that training does not last a lifetime.
Another misconception about the wilderness is that once the wilderness season passes, everything will automatically work out well and prosperity will follow. This misconception also stems from understanding the wilderness solely as a place of "judgment." When the Israelites finished their wilderness journey and entered the Promised Land, what awaited them was not immediate rest, but a fierce war of conquest.
 
In fact, that was the very reason God did not lead the Israelites straight to Canaan after the Exodus but trained them in the wilderness first. What is the purpose of the Exodus? When many people think about the Exodus, they only think of liberation from "slavery."
No, that is not the case. The reason God brought the Israelites out of Egypt was to punish the Canaanite nations, who were full of sin at that time, and to establish His kingdom there based on His Word and will.
How could Israel, who had lived as slaves until now, handle such a task? How could they build God's kingdom without knowing His will?
That is why God did not lead them straight to the land of Canaan after the Exodus, but first trained them in the wilderness. He made a covenant with them, gave them the Law, allowed them to experience His presence through the Tabernacle, His provision through manna and springs in the desert, and His protection and guidance through the pillar of fire and cloud.
Only then would they stand firm as God's people without wavering when they entered Canaan, enabling them to build God's kingdom in that land.
This principle also applies to our salvation. Just as God's purpose in delivering Israel from Egypt was not simply to free them from slavery but to make them His holy covenant people and establish His kingdom in the sin-filled land of Canaan, God saved us from slavery to sin and Satan through the precious blood of Jesus Christ to equip us with the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we may go out into this dark world and establish His kingdom. Salvation itself is not the final destination.
The important question for us is not only "Salvation from what?" but also "Salvation for what?" If we do not know the purpose of this salvation, we may fail to properly understand what the salvation God gives us is, and what mission He has entrusted to us.
Then why does God sometimes make us pass through the wilderness? Is it because we sinned and He wants to judge us? No. The wilderness is God's space of grace and His boot camp, where He establishes and trains us as His people. If we know and believe this truth, we can still give thanks to God even at the moment we are in the wilderness, moving forward with expectation for what He will do.
 
Three Absences in the Wilderness
Then, how does God train us in the wilderness? He trains us through lack. The wilderness is a place where three types of absences exist.
 
1) Uncertainty
First, the wilderness is a place where the future is uncertain. Do you want to live a life where your future is securely guaranteed, or a vague life where you cannot foresee even an inch ahead? We like certainty. We want everything to go exactly according to our plans because it gives us a sense of security. That is a basic human desire.
However, if everything in our life is certain and there is zero uncertainty, there is someone who becomes unnecessary in our lives. God. If everything is certain and there are no variables, we would have no need to seek God.
The wilderness was a place where nothing was certain. They did not know where they had to go tomorrow or what they had to do. Sometimes they stayed in one place for over a year, but other times they had to pack up their tents and move after just one day.
 And God did not tell them the reasons for moving. Even if it did not make sense, they simply repeated the cycle: when the cloud lifted, they packed their tents and moved, and when the cloud settled again, they pitched their tents.
Yet, it was precisely because of that uncertainty that the Israelites sought God even more. They relied more deeply on the Word of God’s promise. By allowing them to spend times that were incomprehensible, uncertain, and anxious, God made them rely on and experience Him even more as the only Way.
Therefore, everyone, if you feel like you are currently in a vague situation where the future is unclear and you cannot see an inch ahead, please do not fear but expect great things from God. Look forward even more to what God will do in your life and how He will work. God will become your inheritance. God will become your certainty. That certainty is far more secure than any certainty this world can guarantee us.
However, that assurance can only be obtained when we look only to God and trust Him completely. God sometimes makes us pass through uncertain times to give us that very assurance.
 
2) Scarcity
Secondly, the wilderness is a place of lack. Do you prefer abundance, or do you prefer lack? You might think, "What kind of question is that? Of course, abundance is better." I feel the same way. I like abundance because it provides security.
However, the 40-year wilderness life of the Israelites was far from abundant. The wilderness was a place where there was not enough food or water, nor proper clothing to protect their bodies from extreme temperatures. In terms of survival, the wilderness was the worst possible place.
The Israelites actually experienced lack in the wilderness. God did give them food and water, but He did not give it to them in overflowing abundance.
When God gave them manna, He gave them a rule to follow, which is very interesting. God allowed them to gather only the amount they needed for that day and no more. If even a day passed, the manna gathered the previous day would rot away.
Why did God use such a cumbersome method? Wouldn't it have been easier for God if He had let them gather and store a month's or a year's worth at once? He would only have to give it once then, not everyday.
Yet, instead of giving a large amount of manna at once, God chose the method of giving only enough for each day. At first, the Israelites gathered much more than they needed for the day because of their fear of survival. Thinking, "When will we ever find food again in this wilderness?" they probably tried to store as much as possible while it was available.
However, God made all that extra stored manna rot. And every morning, He gave them fresh manna. People who initially gathered more than necessary out of survival anxiety gradually felt no need to do so over time. Why? Because they knew it would be there when they went out the next morning anyway.
That is what the Israelites learned while gathering manna every morning: even if they currently had no food for tomorrow, God would surely provide it the next day.
God repeated this not for a day, a week, or a month, but for 40 years. God never once failed to feed them. In this way, through their lack, the Israelites experienced the goodness, faithfulness, and power of God, who became their abundance.
This is something someone in an abundant environment can rarely experience. The reason God made the Israelites experience lack in the wilderness was not to torment them, but to prevent them from relying on visible food and water, guiding them to rely more on God.
Thus, they received a blessing far greater than being full of food or having their physical thirst quenched by overflowing water—which is experiencing God, who is the true bread and eternal living water, relying on Him, and living within His Word. Their experience in the wilderness would serve as the driving force to keep relying only on God, even when they later entered Canaan, the manna ceased, and they experienced the abundance God provided.
Therefore, when you face any kind of lack in your life, rather than complaining and resenting it, I hope you will look forward to what God will do and the blessings He will give through those challenges. God's thoughts toward us are not of disaster, but of peace. God knows our needs and fills them. However, God wants us to seek Him first rather than the blessings He will give, because He Himself is the source of true blessing.
 
3) A Place to Stay
Lastly, the wilderness is a place with no permanent space to settle. Do you like to settle down in one place, or do you like to wander around without a place to stay?
We prefer having a stable, settled home over living like strangers. However, the life of the Israelites in the wilderness was not like that. They kept wandering, constantly pitching and packing up tents in the desert. There was no place to settle, and they had no idea when they would have to leave or where their next stop would be.
It is truly despairing to have no proper place to rest in an environment filled with all kinds of wild beasts and venomous insects, extreme heat by day, extreme cold by night, and occasional sandstorms.
Yet, God made the Israelites live for 40 years in such a wilderness, exposed to all kinds of dangers. By doing so, God allowed them to experience that true protection and safety come only from Him. Though they had no safe, sturdy house to protect them, God Himself dwelt among them, becoming a house and a fortress far safer and stronger than any physical dwelling.
 
These are the three characteristics of the wilderness. The wilderness is a place where the future is unclear, everything is lacking, and there is no place to stay. However, the Israelites were closest to God when they experienced the most severe lack.
Because they did not know where to go tomorrow, they had no choice but to be sensitive to God's guidance. They constantly kept a close eye on when the pillar of cloud would lift and where it would head. Because they could not obtain food and water on their own, they relied even more on God's provision. They lived like wandering strangers, but because of that, they were always ready to leave their temporary dwelling and walk together with God.
In this way, God became their future, their abundance, and their refuge in the wilderness. The wilderness was a place where everything was lacking, but there, the Israelites gained the most precious thing of all: they experienced the living God. To let them experience this very truth, God made the Israelites walk the path of the wilderness for a short time. Therefore, the wilderness is a place of grace and a place of blessing.
 
This is Deuteronomy 2:7:
 “The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.” (Dt 2:7)
When we pass through wilderness moments, God knows it and is with us. He guides us with His Word, gives us our daily bread, and becomes our rock of refuge. The greatest blessing given to us is not the certainty of the future, material abundance, or a house that provides rest, but God alone, who is our eternal life and inheritance.
Therefore, even when we feel like we are passing through a wilderness in our lives, we can step forward boldly without fear or anxiety. It is because we believe in God, who is always with us, knows our needs and fills them, guides our steps, and makes a way in the wilderness.
At the end of this wilderness training, Moses said to the Israelites: Let us read today's main passage together once more.
 “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.  Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.” (Dt 8:2-4)
Moses added this as well. Let us read verses 14 through 16 together.
 “The Lord your God brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you.” (Dt. 8:14-16)
The reason God made the Israelites spend 40 years in the wilderness was to train them to rely on and experience Him more. This was so that later, even after they entered the Promised Land and enjoyed the abundant and stable life God provided, they would remember God, the true source of all things, and continue to humbly rely on Him and live according to His Word.
This is God's training. That God sometimes places us in situations of uncertainty, lack, and anxiety is not an expression of His indifference, but of His care; it is not abandonment, but an expression of His love.
This is the true blessing that I hope all of us here today will experience. If we want to become true people of God and carry out the work of establishing His kingdom on this earth, we must first know and experience who He is. For this purpose, God sometimes places us in situations of uncertainty, discomfort, and lack.
If you are passing through such a season, please do not fear or worry. Rather, I hope you will view it as an opportunity to experience God's goodness and faithfulness. Remember that God's plans for us are not for disaster, but always to give us blessings, hope, and a future.
At this time, I pray that all of us will stand firm on the knowledge of God and the word of truth, experiencing who He is in every situation. May we be built up as true people of God who, with unshakable faith in Him, establish His kingdom wherever we go and whatever situation we face.
 
[Closing Prayer]
Heavenly Father, thank You for speaking to us today through Your Word of life and letting us realize Your will. Lord, at this moment, we confess that You alone are the true blessing, life, and inheritance of our lives.
Please train us as Your soldiers to establish Your kingdom on this earth. When we face situations where we feel like we are passing through a wilderness, help us remember that it is a time when God is giving us grace.
Instead of complaining, let us come with thanksgiving; instead of despairing, let us come with expectation, trusting and relying on You even more. May we experience God, who is our true hope, abundance, and inheritance.
We desire to be trained by Your Word and Presence. Lord, You have entrusted us with the mission of establishing God's kingdom. Please continue to nurture us with Your Word in our lives, fill us with Your presence, and let us live victoriously as Your holy children in this dark world.
We confess that You alone are the source of true blessing in our lives. In the new week ahead, let us trust and rely only on You, walk with You, and establish God's kingdom in every area where You have sent us.
We thank You for all these things, and we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
 
 
[Reflection Questions]
1. Among the three types of lack that the Israelites experienced in the wilderness—uncertainty, scarcity, and having no safe place to stay—which one are you experiencing most deeply in your life right now? How do you think God is working in your life through this situation, and what kind of God does He want you to discover during this season?
 
2. The reason God saved us and leads us through His spiritual boot camp in the wilderness is to establish His kingdom on this earth. Share one specific way you can build God's kingdom this week in the place where He has sent you (family, workplace, school, etc.).