Like Israelites, we lean on God’s loving faithfulness in ‘wilderness’ times

Published: April 17, 2021

By Judy Hoelzeman
St. Edward Church, Little Rock

Like many Catholics, I did not grow up learning the Bible. But from the time I was a young adult, I have had invaluable opportunities to study the Scriptures. I have especially appreciated the Old Testament, which records, in various types of literature, the Jewish roots of the Christian faith.

Reading the Old Testament can be daunting, especially if you start at the beginning and try to go through consecutive books. However, exploring themes that run through the Old Testament is a manageable way to absorb and reflect on its message. The theme of wilderness (or desert) is prominent in Exodus. Biblical wilderness shows us where humans meet God, particularly in crisis.

Israel set out on its long journey away from the oppression of the Egyptians toward an unexplored world. Ironically, it is during their wilderness wanderings that the Hebrew people are truly formed into a people chosen by God to carry out his saving plan. St. Gregory of Nyssa, who lived in the fourth century, said, “Moses left his home not knowing where he was going, a sure sign he was going the right way.”

This trek was probably seen as an ill-conceived journey of people too foolish to take maps or to choose a destination before they set out. In the wilderness, the Hebrews’ faith was tested regularly. At different times, they experienced both God’s graciousness and God’s wrath.

For their part, the Israelites responded generously to God at times (Jeremiah 2:2). At other times, they rebelled (Deuteronomy 8:14). But in the end, because of their willingness, all the nations in the world would somehow be blessed (Genesis 12:3).

What about us? Unlike Moses, we make careful plans for our lives with the expectation that things will happen as we have planned them — without hitches. But hitches happen. In addition to our personal hard times, we are faced with a killer pandemic and angry divisions among Americans. We cannot avoid wilderness times. And that is not altogether a bad thing — if we recognize and admit the wilderness.

The trouble comes when we try to deny it (“everything is just fine”) or when we begin to believe that we are the only one who has a wilderness (“why is this happening to me?”).

We can also try to avoid it (“I’ll take a detour”) depending on food, drink, vacations or shopping sprees to make life feel better. Most commonly, perhaps, we try to control it (“I can do this”), building up enough resources (money, power, education, hard work) to pave a path through the wilderness.

Eventually, of course, we must relinquish control and admit we are powerless, admit that God’s plans are better than ours. Then we can begin slowly to believe that the obstacles in our lives are not meant to destroy us; that God is there in our wilderness, offering his protection.

God offers to go with us through our disappointment and heartache, his hand stretched out, begging us to hand over to him our sadness, our sins, our fears.

During their long wilderness journey, the Israelites came to know that God’s hesed — loving faithfulness — preserved them. Hesed demanded that they trust in God alone and trust that God is infinitely more powerful than the wilderness.

As we go through the experience of our own wilderness, may we come more and more to rely on this loving faithfulness that can come only from God.

This article was originally published in Arkansas Catholic April 17, 2021. Copyright Diocese of Little Rock. All rights reserved. This article may be copied or redistributed with acknowledgement and permission of the publisher.