Endurance for the Journey, Featured

In the Desert

The Lord spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting
in the Desert of Sinai on the first day
of the second month of the second year
after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said:
“Take a census of the whole Israelite community
by their clans and families,
listing every man by name, one by one.”
NUMBERS 1:1-2 (NIV)



The Hebrew title for the book of Numbers means “in the desert (or wilderness).” Now I can relate to that! I know how barren, forsaken and hopeless those “wilderness” seasons in life can be. At the same time, I freely admit that God has taught me more in those desolate places than He ever has on the mountaintop. You may be in a wilderness of your own as you read these words. You feel lost, confused and alone. You wonder where God is.


As a wilderness survivor, let me assure you that in spite of the confusion you feel, the God of Numbers is a God of order. And just as surely as He numbered the army of Israel, numbered each star in the night sky and numbered every hair on your head, so He numbers your days and holds them in His hands. He will not, He has not, forgotten you in the desert. His thoughts about you cannot be numbered. They outnumber the grains of sand.



You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
How precious are our thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they out number the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
You are still with me!
PSALM 139:16-18 (NLT)