How Not To Worry in the Wilderness (Coronavirus)

This is probably more for me than it is for you because in this time of Coronavirus there are a lot of scary noises out there. I want to deal with the fear now, before it grows, and believe me, fear can grow if we let it.

I woke up with the word wilderness in my head, so I went straight to the Holy Bible to the wilderness account in Exodus.

With this Coronavirus pandemic, we find ourselves in a wilderness of sorts, we do not know what lies ahead or around the corner. 

Can you imagine leaving a place you have grown accustomed to and going out into the unknown? Into a land uninhabited? Into a land filled with wild beasts? The Israelites did that. We are doing that now. I’ve been much too hard on the Israelites. What they endured was hard. It is hard what we’re enduring now, but it is no excuse for not trusting in God. 

The children of Israel were to follow their deliverer, Moses into, and through, the wilderness to the promise land. And they were in that wilderness for 40 years. I am not saying we will be in this wilderness for 40 years! 

But sometimes they took their eyes off their deliverer and focused on the wilderness, and I think that happens to some of us at times, at least, to me.

Yes, we are in unchartered territory with this beast, Coronavirus, and with the quarantine situation, and we need to guard against worry. 

We worry 

• When we start looking at the wilderness more than God
• When we start questioning the goodness of God

Jesus Christ is our Moses.

Jesus Christ is our Deliverer.

The Lord went before the children of Israel in a cloud by day to protect them from the heat, and a fire by night to give them light. 

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: Exodus 13:21

Jesus is our Protector.

Jesus is our Light.

The following are times the children of Israel took their eyes off Moses and started looking at the wilderness. Moses was up on the mountain for 40 days getting the commandments. They began to take things into their own hands when they questioned whether he would ever return. They built for themselves a golden calf. 

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” Exodus 32:1-4

We should not build a golden calf while awaiting Jesus Christ’s return from heaven, even though He already lives in the hearts of believers. His followers are His body on this earth. We are to walk in love and trust Him.

The economy is in jeopardy because of this virus but we cannot look at that more than on God. We cannot trust God and money at the same time. We cannot trust God and ourselves at the same time either. We don’t ignore the problem, we just look to the answer more than to the problem. The Word of God is filled with answers.

The Israelites began questioning God’s goodness. Will they have food? Will they have drink? Will they die?

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. . .Numbers 21:5-9 

They despised the manna, the light bread from heaven. 

We should never despise the Bread from heaven, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ 

So, we can see how worry can be revealed in the questions we ask. The children of Israel asked, can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Did you bring us out here to die?

We might ask, How long is this going to last? Will we ever get back to work? Will we have enough to eat? To drink? Will we die?

So, how do we stop worrying in the wilderness?

Instead of being tempted to question God’s goodness, we must trust in God’s goodness. How do we trust God?

• Be as a green olive tree in the house of God Psalm 52:8 (virtually in quarantine)
• Lean not unto our own understanding Proverbs 3:5
• Praise His word Psalm 56:4 
• Pour out our heart before Him Psalm 62:8
• Keep our eyes on Him Psalm 141:8
• Trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God 1 Timothy 6:17
• Remember the name of the Lord our God Psalm 20:7
• Draw near to God, declare all His works Psalm 73:28
• Flee from idols Isaiah  42:17

We worry when we look at the wilderness, and not the Way, the Promise, the Light in the darkness, OUR GOD. 

We can keep up with news, but we shouldn't saturate ourselves with it. We need to saturate ourselves with Good News. 

We can trust in doctors, nurses, officials, medicines, a cure, but we should never place our trust in these more than in God.

We can trust in money, but we should never place our trust in money more than in God.

Keeping, what is written, in our hearts, helps us not fall into the trap of questioning God’s ability to provide for us and protect us. Eating spiritual bread daily, the Word of God, will give us spiritual stability to trust God.

The children of Israel were tempted in the wilderness on the way to promise.

Jesus Christ is our promise! He overcame temptation in the wilderness with, it is written!

Read Matthew 4:1-11 

Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness with the wild beasts to be tempted of the devil. When he had fasted 40 days & 40 nights, He was hungry. 

The tempter tempted the Bread of heaven with bread. 

The tempter asked: If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 

Jesus answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

The tempter tempted the Almighty God who gives His angels charge.

The tempter asked: If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from the temple, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning you, and in their hands they shall bear  you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone. 

Jesus answered, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 

The tempter tempted the One and only true God, the King of the world, to worship him

The tempter said: All the kingdoms of the world will I give thee, if you will fall down and worship me.

Jesus answered, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they were there to prove what was in their hearts, if they would indeed keep God’s commands. He let them be hungry and fed them with something they never seen before, manna, so they would learn that they are not to live by only natural bread, but spiritual bread, God’s word. Deuteronomy 8:2-3 

And God had to lead them the long way around for their own good, although I’m not necessarily saying that is what is happening now. 

And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt. Ex 13:17-18

Here are some mistakes in the 40 year wilderness journey found in Psalm 78

• They were stubborn and rebellious
• They set not their heart aright
• Their spirit was not stedfast with God
• They kept not the covenant of God
• They refused to walk in his law
• They forgot his works, and his wonders
• They provoked Him
• They tempted God by asking meat for their lust
• They questioned God, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? 
• They did not believe God
• They did not trust in His salvation
• They flattered him with their mouth
• They lied unto him with their tongues
• Their hearts were not right with Him
• They were not stedfast in His covenant. 
• They turned back and tempted God
• They limited the Holy One of Israel
• They provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images

We should do the opposite of all the above found in Psalm 78

• Do not be stubborn or rebellious
• Set our hearts aright
• Have a steadfast spirit with God. 
• Keep covenant of God
• Walk in His Word
• Never forgot his works & his wonder
• Do not provoke God
• Do not tempt God in our heart by asking meat for our lust
• Do not doubt He can furnish a table for us in this wilderness
• Trust in God, not in ourselves
• Do not flatter Him with our mouths
• Do not lie to Him
• Be steadfast in his covenant 
• Do not turn your backs on Him
• Do not depart from Him
• Do not limit Him
• Flee from idolatry 
• From Hebrews 3:13-14
• Exhort one another daily
• Hold on to our faith 

And from Exodus 14:13

• Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord

And from Matthew 22:36-40

• Keep the 2 greatest commandments

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

And people are showing love in a great degree right now by helping one another in this time of crisis. And this charity is bringing many to the faith.

Prayer

We give thanks to You Lord! You deliver out of darkness! You pulled us out of the clutches of the enemy. You break every chain! You are our Bread and Water! You revive us! You rescue us! You are our bright promise! You are our light in the darkness! You are our shelter in the storm! You heal all our diseases! May we never lose sight, in this time of uncertainty, that You alone are our Rock!

-inspired by Psalm 107

Pray Psalm 91

Jesus said: 

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. John 6:50-51