Unlikely Leader

I serve on the nominating committee on the presbytery, as a leader as a pastor I can tell you that people often aren ‘t sure of their own gifts, much like Moses wasn’t sure of his. He didn’t understand why God would be choosing him. Now we find him in leadership and his followers aren’t so sure he’s the one for them, or at least that the direction he’s leading them.

They challenge his leadership at every turn. We’re going to look at some survival skills we need to survive in the wilderness.

Survival Skills Needed in the Wilderness

Think of characters in stories who have gotten turned around and lost.

Dorothy found herself in the land of Oz when she was caught up in a tornado.

Alice landed in Wonderland after slipping down a rabbit hole.

Lucy stumbled into Narnia by hiding in the back of a wardrobe.

The wilderness can be as deceiving as Oz, as quirky as Wonderland, and as transformational as Narnia. But you sure don’t think that when you first arrive there. The wilderness is a desolate place, a desert. Spirtually speaking the wilderness is a season in which you feel like God has deserted you.

How do we find ourselves in the wilderness? For us it’s not likely through a tornado or falling down a rabbit hole or in a wardrobe. We usually get there one of two ways: through a crisis, or after a spiritual victory.

Moses got there once each way. The first time was after a crisis - he had just murdered someone. So he ran away to the wilderness where he stayed for 40 years and God called to him from the burning bush.

The second time was on the heels of two huge victories - the passover and the parting of the Red Sea. So sometimes a tragedy or a problem starts us on our wandering, and sometimes we experience something sensational such as God using us or speaking through us in a special way and then it goes quiet adn we find ourselves in the wilderness.

You may have experienced a wilderness time or a period of dryness in your spiritual life. You may have felt deserted by God -

a financial circumstance that is burying you

lacking clarity of what to do next.

an illness or medical condition that won’t go away

a dream that is turning into disappointment.

Far from being times of spiritual stagnation these desert experiences often provide the most powerful opportunities for our faith to develop. Our faith is a journey. Today, we’re going to look at a day in the life of Moses. He has successfully led the Israelites out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, received the 10 Commandments, and now they’re a few weeks into their campout in the wilderness, and the desert is getting to them.

The Wilderness is a time where our faith can see to be at it’s lowest point. We might feel hopeless, helpless, abandoned, and despairing. And that’s exactly where we find Moses and his people in Numbers 11. So we’re going to pick up the story with one of their most common complaints - the limited menu options.

Numbers 11:4–6 ESV

Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

Survival Skill #1: Don’t Whine

We begin our passage today looking at the people whining about their current situation and selectively comparing it to the past. Manna was the food God provided for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Day after day, and the people are sick of it. So they recall the variety of food they had while in Egypt but conveniently forget the fact that they were slaves.

Some might call this “Selective Historical Re-Creation.” We all do it to one degree or another. We’ve all heard the phrase, “The Good Ol’ Days.” On social media I often read posts talking about how much better we had it as kids, playing until dark, riding our bikes without helmets, riding in cars without seatbelts, etc., etc. We forget how much trouble we got in, how many suffered preventable head injuries that helmets protect us from, or how many people died in car crashes that today might be considered somewhat minor.

The truth is the good ol’ days were likely not as good as we remember, yet the further we get from them the more they can be idealized in our mind.

When leading any group through change there’s always going to be a tendency to want to return to what is familiar and known. That’s why the moment things get a little uncomfortable we whine.

What’s so bad about whining?

Whining is sort of like drinking salt water when you’re lost at sea. Imagine you’re floating in a dingy, desparate with thirst, surrounded by liquid. It’s so tempting to just take a sip, but that sip can be deadly.

Ocean water is about 3X as salty as your blood, so if you drinkk it, your metabolism will shift into crisis mode. Water will flood out of every cell in a vain effort to dilute the salt and cleanse the body of it. The cells need water and this outward flood leaves them dehydrated. Drinking salt water can rapidly result in seizures, unconsciousness, and even brain damage.

So am I saying that if you complain you’ll die? No. But you can see how complaining begins a downward spiral. When we complain we’re focusing on the negative and that can lead to despair and hopelessness, which leads to giving up and failure. A little whining can lead to a total system shutdown.

If you find yourself in the wildnerness and you’re tempted to slip into complaining about the living conditions…IF only…

my back didn’t hurt,

my aging parents weren’t so needy

my kids would cooperate

my spouse would shape up

I had a better job

they’d give me a chance

I have too much work

I don’t have enough work

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I’m going to eat some worms

STOP IT!

2. Survival Skill #2: Get Help

As we continue to read we come across Moses in basic meltdown mode. He asks the Lord:

Numbers 11:11–12 (ESV)

Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth…?

He’s weary. He’s overwhelmed. He feels alone and used up. He’s probably remembering he didn’t even want this job.

However, there’s a difference between Moses complaining and the peoples. Note where the complaints are aimed! Moses complains to God. The people complain to moses.

Sharing your misery with another person or just rehearsing it in your mind gets you no where. Instead of complaining to other people who probably can’t help much, turn your complaints into prayers and go to God for help.

The challenge with prayers in the desert is that it can feel like God isn’t hearing, like you’re talking to the ceiling. Praying for the same thing for a long time with no discernable answer is the very experience that God sometimes has in mind for us. He is purposely slowing down our pace, giving us space to restore.

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Once we’re slowed down:

Micah 7:7 NIV

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Here’s a tool to help you through those desert times:

KEEP A WILDERNESS RECORD

Every day write down

a prayer honestly pouring out your heart to God,

one thing your thankful ofr,

and one way you saw God that day.

3. Survival Skill #3: Grow Strong

After Moses has his meltdown (directed at God) God comes to the rescue:

Numbers 11:16–18 (ESV)

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, … And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, …And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord…Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.

Notice what happened here. God’s answer is twofold.

He provides Moses with help.

God provides the nourishment for his people.

The rest of the book of Numbers God keeps the Israelites in the desert and continues to provide them things they needed. He makes it so their clothing doesn’t wear out, he gives them victory in battle, laws that formed their society, the tabernacle where he met them, the sacrificial system, and a gradual weeding out of the faithless people in their midst

The truth is, when you are in the desert God is growing something in you. When the Israelites were to enter the Promised Land they were to take possession of it. Yet as we see with the 12 spies that went to spy out the land they were not ready. Their faith was very tiny. It needed to grow. It would take 40 years to build, form, refine, teach, discipline, and provide for a new generation of Israelites who would trust him enough to step into the rushing Jordan and conquer a city of giants by marching around it 7 times. That probably why the wilderness journey takes longer than we think it should.

The Wilderness is not a place of great deeds…

The wilderness is not a place where great deeds are done for God. No, it’s a place where God meets people. Israel didn’t conquer any cities or build any temples in the wilderness. They just did laps around Mount Sinai, and as they walked, God went with them. He fed them every morning. He gave them water. He guided them with a cloud. He portected them at night. He spoke to them. He just gave them simple, everyday, loving care — which they usually took for granted — but which were measures of his affection for them.

Theirs was not a lifestyle of achieving something new every day. Rather, the wilderness was where their slavery was banished, their major tasks were on hold, and they got to know God in a deeper, more intimate way than ever before.

Think of trials you’ve gone through in your faith. How was your faith deepened during those times? How did they prepare you for later challenges?

Instead of feeling deserted in the desert, you can actually welcome the wilderness knowing the God who walks so visibly with you at other times in your life continues to walk with you in the midst of the desert.

To God be the glory.

AMEN

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