Patience In Desert Season
“Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we skirted Mount Seir for many days.
“And the Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward. And command the people, saying, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. 5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.
“For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” Deuteronomy 2:2-7
The Lord gave specific instructions in this section of scripture to Moses. The Israelites are about to travel through territories of their brethren, the descendants of Esau. The Lord tells the Israelites that these people will be afraid of them (verse 4). He also gives them instructions in verse 5 and 6 on how to pass through the territory. The Lord goes on to tell Moses about other territories the Israelites will be passing and that He has not planned on giving this territories to them.
This chapter of scripture is very important for our desert seasons of life. When we are going through the desert process there could be long seasons where we have empty hands. We haven’t been given the opportunity to build. We cannot plant because we are in transition. At this point of scripture the Israelites have been on the move for 40 years. They couldn’t build houses, or support themselves, but God sustained them by providing Manna for forty years!!
The book of Genesis describes how God created us in His image and He called us to be fruitful, multiply, & subdue the earth. As people, we have a desire to create, work, produce, prosper, & increase. However, in a long desert journey those needs have to get suspended and we need to allow God to do the work He wants to do in us. He is a faithful God. He will give us what we need, but often in that season He will not give us what we desire.!!
In desert seasons, we need to allow our desires to be subdued by Heaven, or our desires may run our lives. These desires could create dissatisfaction in our lives. They will try to redefine us based on our perceived lack in life. This can lead to jealousy and envy of others who may be in different season of life.
The Lord knew the wandering Israelites would be faced with temptations as they passed through the various territories, so He warned them that none of those territories belonged to them. He had already chosen who should have ownership of those areas. He also didn’t want the Israelites to expect these tribes to treat them with special care or give them something for free. This is the same temptation that we can face in desert season. If we look at others who are settled, we will want what they have. We may expect them to help us get what they have, or expect them to give us something for free because after all we believe someone should pity us!
Patience is hard in desert seasons because you can’t keep yourself busy with just doing things to pass the time. You begin to feel the length of time more than ever. Patience does not have an objective timeline, but it is subjective upon God’s will. Abraham and Sara experienced this. It wasn’t as if Abraham and Sara hadn’t waited a long time, but they didn’t wait long enough!! As a result they moved into action in the flesh thinking that they have waited long enough.
The root of impatience is unbelief. If we move in haste, it could alter the destiny the Lord has for us, or it could postpone God’s process. We can also bring things into our lives that the Lord did not intend. Abraham’s choice of Ishmael caused this for him and his descendants!!
Today, let’s ask the Lord to give us the grace we need to be patient with His process!!