Not all who journey through the wilderness make it through to the Promised Land. That is what we learn from the story of the children of Israel. God said to them, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). God rescues the children of Israel from slavery and promises them a land that will become their home. However, there is a journey between the two that passes through the wilderness. We learn from their story that there are discouragements, uncertainties, dangers, and temptations in route. Not all survive.
In a spiritual sense, God has rescued us from bondage, and we become Heaven-bound. But it is not an immediate passage. We too must pass through the wilderness. While our wilderness may contain grocery stores and hotels, yet it is a dangerous wilderness of its own. In order to make it through, we need survival skills.
Survival Skill #1 – Know How to Get Pure Water
The first priority in the wilderness is to find water to drink. Even what appears to be a clear running stream can be contaminated. To obtain clean water we need to dig a hole in the sandy soil near the stream until water starts coming up. Gradually, it fills with murky water, but the next day that water will be clean and fit to drink.
To the woman at the well, Jesus said, “… Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).
Can you imagine going through this life with the most important need welling up inside of you? How can we become a flowing stream? Jesus says to ask. He is the Source. The woman at the well reminds us that the well is deep. When parched and the water seems far away, we may need to dig and break up the fallow ground of our hearts. Ask God to penetrate your rocky soil until the fountain flows.
Survival Skill #2 – Food Is Our Next Concern
Proper nourishment in the wilderness is crucial. The children of Israel allowed their fear of hunger to override their trust. Yes, God humbles us and allows us to hunger in the wilderness “that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3). We must know how to gather, prepare, and serve living bread for ourselves and others. In the same way that cooking our own food results in the healthiest food, partaking of the Word of God for ourselves—studying it, meditating upon it, and sharing what we’ve learned—will provide what our soul needs.
Survival Skill #3 – Know How to Start a Fire
While extreme heat can be dangerous, as long as we have Survival Skill #1, it is not as fatal as extreme cold. Prolonged exposure to cold can lead to hypothermia, a dangerous drop in body temperature that impairs bodily functions. Frostbite occurs when skin and underlying tissues freeze, and it can lead to a slow death.
What has been the temperature of your experience in the wilderness? Fiery trials are painful, but it is the coldness of apathy, selfishness, evil surmising, formalism, and indifference that are more concerning. “… Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). “It is the coldness of the heart, the unbelief of those who ought to have faith, that keeps the churches in feebleness.”1 “We must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason.” “… This will be our test.”2
How are we to gather warmth from the coldness of others and not allow ourselves to go cold? Know how to start a fire—and start it near a large rock. The rock will reflect the heat of the fire back to you. Jesus told us of the spiritual ingredients needed to start and keep a spiritual fire hot. He said we will be betrayed by people who are close to us and that we will be hated. But in patience we will possess our souls (Luke 21:17–19). He also said we should rejoice in that day when all men hate us, and leap for joy (Luke 6:22–23), and that we should bless them, do good to them, and pray for them (Matthew 5:44). If we do this, He promised those who endure to the end of time will be saved (Matthew 24:10–12). Patience, refusing to let our haters steal our joy, and choosing to love our enemies and do good to them will ignite a fire that nothing and no one can put out.
We’ll continue learning about the survival skills we need to get through the wilderness and into the Promised Land next month.
1. Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, 304.
2. Ellen G. White, Testimonies to the Church vol. 5, 136.
