When the Israelites were rescued from Egypt, they spent forty years in the desert under very brutal conditions. The heat would have been unbearable and there was a constant lack of food and water. The wilderness wanderings certainly tested the Israelites in every sense of the word. In fact, God said, “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8:2 ESV).
God reminded them that they always had food and water when they were in the desert. God was testing them to see if they would remain faithful to him and to see if they were really ready to inherit the promised land. A valid question we could ask ourselves is: like the Israelites, will we keep God’s commandments no matter what? Will we help our neighbor and do what we can to bless other people when they are in need? Will we do this regardless of our life’s circumstances?
The Bible is clear that we will face many trials. Those trials will test us on every level. There may be days when we are hungry, thirsty, lacking money, or our health may be bad. What will we do in those circumstances? Will we turn away from God or will we continue to trust him and bless other people? Those are choices that we need to make every single day of our lives. Let’s always choose to bless!
