After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Exodus 13: 20-22
The Lord always wants to go ahead of you too beloved. Guiding your way; either by day or by night. Providing exactly what you need to get through the desert; to make it through the wilderness. But the hearts of the Israelites only focused on the wilderness and not on God in the wilderness. They would be pursued by Pharaoh and complain to Moses:
As
Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians,
marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said
to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in
Not only do the Israelites fail to see God in their
wilderness, but they would prefer to return to a life of slavery! We too were
slaves in
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14: 13-14
Two of the more difficult words for Christians to follow sometimes are "be still." We are conditioned by the world to fight our own battles. We are conditioned by the world to stand up for ourselves. We are conditioned to rely upon ourselves and trust no one. The Lord has a different conditioning program. The Lord has a better way for you. The Psalmist tells us to "be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10).
But being still is not easy for us, especially in the middle of the wilderness. The Israelites would be delivered that day with the parting of the sea but they still could not remember God in their wilderness. They grumbled about water and then they grumbled about bread. They saw manna rain down from heaven and they still grumbled for meat. They could not be still in their wilderness.
Joseph however always was. The bible indicates that he never questioned or complained. I am sure he was not happy about a thirteen year wilderness but he always saw God in it. He always saw whatever glimmer of hope existed and immediately attributed it to God. The word says that God prospered Joseph in Potiphar's house but that is only because Joseph saw God's hand at work. He also saw God's hand at work when he prospered in the prison. These "propserings" did not change the fact that he was still a slave or still in prison. Joseph understood he was still in the wilderness; he just always saw the hand of God at work in it. And that was why when the Cupbearer forgot him; Joseph knew he was never truly forgotten. He still saw the hand of God at work.
