Like the Israelites, Christians must live by faith as we follow Christ through a spiritual wilderness. Faith is the vital component carries us through.

God did not take ancient Israel by a direct route, and our lives likewise may seem to wander. We must trust God in spite of the detours, following His lead.

The well of God's patience is not bottomless. Today, we are witnessing God's waning patience with this nation as He removes His hand of protection.

God's people must learn to trust Him for their survival, remembering that the eating of Unleavened Bread is a reminder that only God has the power to rescue.

The spiritual journey of God's people is more difficult than the physical one of the ancient Israelites, requiring as it does more resources to navigate.

Israel's trek was not only a physical journey, but a mental wandering caused by rejecting God's leadership. The potential to sin is a test of resolve.

Time after time, the children of Israel accused Moses of leading them to their deaths, failing to trust God in spite of His track record of provision.

Not only did Israel cross the Red Sea on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, but it was also when Jericho's walls fell and when Jesus healed the lame man.

God has allowed carnal nature to remain in His people so He can determine whether they seriously want to defeat the downward pulls of the flesh.

If we yield to God's manipulation of our lives, we will handle stress constructively, developing a relationship with Him, bearing spiritual fruit.

Christ's suffering was not confined to crucifixion, but also consisted of rejection, humiliation, and the duress of persecution. Glory follows suffering.

God uses trials to test and humble us, but He never impedes our ability to move forward toward His goal of creating us as a family in His image.

Because we do not have an abundance of material blessings, we are gently forced to go back to Almighty God for our sustenance, much the same way as Israel.

Our experience in overcoming and developing character will be fraught with difficulties, but God will provide the power to get through all the anguish.

Anxious care and foreboding are debilitating and faith-destroying. Meditating on what God has already done strengthens our faith and trust in God.

The spies returned on the 8th of Av, and as the 9th of Av began, the people murmured, beginning a long list of calamities to befall Israel on this date.

The experiences of ancient Israel, bad and good, guide us in our spiritual pilgrimage to our Promised Land. The book of Deuteronomy is a strong foundation.

With all the military metaphors in the Bible, there can be no doubt that God likens the Christian life to a war against the evils and temptations we face.

Jesus explains that the truth is the only thing that will set us free. A major player in our lives or spiritual journey is the truth and how we use it.

When facing the character-building tests God provides, we may become weary, forgetting that these trials are necessary for God to test what is in our hearts.

Psalms 105 and 106 describe the Great White Throne period, expressing the yearning desire to be included in His Kingdom and declaring God's praises.

The ephod, the curious girdle, and the breastplate of judgment were part of the high priest's attire that teach us godly principles today.

God knows the end from the beginning, but He does not give us all the details at once, except as they are necessary for us for His purpose to be worked out.

We live daily in uncharted territory, but the sobering account in Numbers provides a roadmap, establishing God's pattern of judging our pilgrimage conduct.

Like the ancient Israelites, we sometimes come to yearn for our previous bondage. If we understood God's purpose for us, we would live entirely differently.

God forced Israel either to trust Him completely for deliverance or to return to their slavery. One of the greatest miracles in history has a lesson for us.

Those called by God now have a unique privilege and responsibility to live in God's truth, distinguishing them from those who have hope but lack understanding.

We must reflect on the futility of focusing on the chaotic and repetitive cycles of human history in which human solutions refuse to factor in God's laws.

We are not aimlessly wandering, but are on a God-guided pilgrimage. The circuitous route ensures our safety, just as it did for the ancient Israelites.

God never says the Christian life would be easy or that life would always be fair. Difficulties and tests are given to test our hearts and promote humility.

After complaining, the Israelites received the death penalty. Is that fair? It seem to be a touch heavy-handed, but there is more more to the story.

Even as we are to personally count the 50 days to Pentecost, we also must think continually of the lessons these days teach us about our spiritual journey.

Unless we acknowledge God's sovereign authority in our lives, following through with the things we learn from scripture, we, like atheists, will not see God.

The church exists because of what God has purposed and done, not because anything we have done. When pride exists within us, God can do nothing with us.

As God found it necessary to test our forbears, He allows us to go through grueling experiences (trials, tests, and temptations) for maximum growth.

God's children look no different on the outside, but God has given them something inside, something spiritual, that makes them special to Him.

Israel's conquest of Canaan under Joshua can be a metaphor for the journey from baptism to entering God's kingdom, especially for the second generation.

We wish God would tell us what to do but fail to realize that He has instructed us through His Word. Yet, like Moses at Kadesh, we fail to do what He tells us!

Those who believe in the "once saved always saved" doctrine fail to see that God has a more extensive and creative plan for mankind than merely saving him.