When we read Exodus’s story of Israel’s flight into the desert, we usually observe the fickleness of the Hebrews – how they praise God one minute and turn around and complain the next. But when we find ourselves in our own spiritual wilderness period, it’s pretty easy to find things to grouse about.
In the first place, it’s so frustrating. We find ourselves saying: “I’m sick of this. When is it going to be over?”
It’s also scary: “I have no idea how to solve any of these problems. Are things ever going to be better again?”
But most of all, it hurts: “How can I keep going with all this pain pressing against me? How is it possible that I’m even still alive?”
The image that has helped me in times like these is the crying infant. If you’ve had a chance to be around a newborn’s tears, you know how insistent they sound. But think of the magic that happens when mom or dad picks up the child and holds her tight. Suddenly, peace descends on all around.
These are some of the best moments of parenthood – when we’re able to settle our child down into the warmth and protection of our arms.
I suppose that God feels the same when the Lord hears our cries. Jesus alludes to this as He approaches Jerusalem: “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing” (Luke 13:34 NIV).
When Israel made ready to enter the Promised Land, Moses offered the Hebrews a similar picture: “You saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here” (Deuteronomy 1:30 The Message).
We need to be willing to have God pick us up and hold us close. Just as we long to quiet the screaming babe, the Lord yearns to calm us down and let us feel understood and cared for. Listen for that sweet murmuring:
“There, there. It’s all right. I’ve got you.”
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