Day 7 in the Wilderness: Commit to the journey, no matter what.

“Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.””

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14:11-12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In early January, 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon triggering a five year civil war that would end with Julius Caesar being named the first “dictator for life.” According to Suetonius (Roman historian), as He crossed over the stream (Rubicon) separating Italy from its northern provinces, he uttered these words: ālea iacta est (the die has been cast).

You see, Julius Caesar had been a governor of a Roman province (Gaul). By Roman law it was illegal to cross into Roman territory leading an army; to do so would be understood as a step toward revolution or insurrection.

As you may know, the phrase, “the die is cast,” is an illusion to the rolling of dice: once tossed from the hand, you can’t take it back.

It seems that most people want to have a “plan B” in case their plan turns south. And—whereas there may be a place for that in some situations—our walk with the Lord isn’t one of those.

“Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:51‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Our Lord certainly didn’t take a way out, but rather, determined to accept the will of His Father, He heads for Jerusalem where He knows what will happen.

This determination to complete His assignment is spoken of prophetically in the book of Isaiah:

“For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭50:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We are living in a time of great stress and uncertainty. As such, we may fall to the temptation to try to escape the pressure of following the will of our Father. But, we do well to heed the warning of Jesus when speaking of the Last Days:

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24:9-13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Today we reflect on the fact that the children of Israel did not set out from Egypt with a resolve to stay the course. As we see in our opening scripture, early on, when they first faced the pressure of being pursued by the armies of Egypt, they wanted to bail. Sadly, we see this tendency emerging repeatedly with each new challenge.

“And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.””

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭16:3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

And, time and again we see them losing ground—or losing everything—because of it.

For those seeking to do the will of the Lord, the world system will always be a wilderness. And, a lack of resolve in terms of trusting the Lord, will inevitably lead to equivocation.

Remember, we have the Lord with us and He has assured our victory! For the Christian sojourner, “plan B” is never an option!

For today write this in your “wilderness journal”:

Commit to the journey, no matter what.

#40daysinthewilderness