We don't have to be Children of the Wilderness.

Miraculously delivered from slavery in Egypt, they were now wandering in the wilderness.  The Promised Land waited for them, but these were the wilderness years.  And they were hard.

The Hebrews had seen God do the miraculous, but rather than marveling at his greatness and his goodness, they complained, they grumbled, they argued with God.

When Paul writes to the Philippians urging them to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, he has these wilderness children in mind.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 

that you may be blameless and innocent, 

children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, 

among whom you shine as lights in the world, 

holding fast to the word of life, 

so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Philippians 2:14-16

The wilderness children didn't embrace their freedom and trust God.  Instead they complained to each other and argued with God.  Rather than growing into their destiny as children of God, they became a crooked and twisted generation.  The challenges in the wilderness highlighted their failure to trust God.   

Water

Three days into their freedom, they were without water. They needed water.  But instead of going to God with their need, they complained.  They didn't trust that the same God who turned the bitterness of slavery into victory could turn bitter water sweet.  Do you trust God as your living water?  Do you trust God with your immediate needs?

Food

Once they had water, they needed food.  Instead of trusting that the same God who gave them water would give them food, they asked for death.  They believed death to be a better option than trusting God with their hunger. Do you trust God as your bread of life?  Do you trust God for your sustenance?

Provision

Now that they had the manna, they wanted more.  They wanted the food of their slavery.  They wearied of God's provision in their freedom and longed to return to the meat of captivity.  Do you trust God's freedom ways even if it looks like scarcity?  Do you trust God's provision is best?  

Promises

On the edge of the Promised Land they were captivated by fear. They doubted God's promises.  Rather than trusting that God would deliver what he promised, they wanted to go back to Egypt. Even when there are giants in the land,  do you trust God's promises will be fulfilled in his time and in his way?

Position

Preparing for life in the Promised Land, they rebelled against God's appointed leadership. They valued power rather than trusting God to appoint them for his purposes.  Do you trust God to position you for his purposes?  

Failing to trust God is serious.  For the Hebrews, it meant years of wandering and eventually death.  Rather than receiving their identity as sons and daughters of God, they remained wilderness children.  We face the same threat.

If we do not trust God in the wilderness, if we are characterized by grumbling among ourselves and arguing with God ...  we will not become the women he created us to be.  We will not grow into our identity as children of God, daughters of the King.

As Christians, we are in the wilderness, the "now and the not yet" between Jesus' death on the cross and his ultimate return.  The challenges are real.  How we handle the challenges reveals our true identity.  We are children in the wilderness.  But we don't have to be children of the wilderness.

Which of these five challenges is significant for you today?  Will you choose to trust God with your challenge and step into your identity as a daughter of the King?

Thanks for joining me at the Riverside!  I'd love to hear from you!  You can leave me a comment, connect with me on Facebook, or send me an email at cynthiafin@gmail.com.  If you have been encouraged, would you share Riverside with a friend?  Thanks so much!