Do you ever feel like you are wandering through life aimlessly? It almost seemed as if Israel was wandering aimlessly as God was leading them to the Promised Land from Egypt. God gave Israel a promise and there was a definite destination, yet it took 40 years for the Israelites to realize the promise. In Deuteronomy 1:2 it says from Mt. Horeb to Canaan is an 11-day journey. Now we don’t know how many people were in the traveling party, however, we are told in Exodus 12:37, 38–37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. 38 Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. We can easily assume that there was at least two million people on this journey. It could have been a two-to-six-week journey, but it wasn’t. Why? Israel’s lack of faith and trust in God! He was supplying them with what they needed and giving them direction and Israel seemed to resist at every turn. It is almost like they didn’t understand the purpose of the trip. God was returning Israel to the land He gave to Abraham. You would think they would have been elated to be rescued from slavery and be going home!
Some Christians fall into the same thinking of the Israelites when they can’t seem to discover a purpose for their life. They may feel as if God has not blessed them with any “spiritual” talents that they can use in the church. This leaves them wandering in a spiritual wilderness. In order to escape this wilderness, people need to know that God has blessed all of us with talents of some kind. They may not be what you consider a spiritual talent, they are a God-given talent, nonetheless. Remember Peter’s words in I Peter 4:10- 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
One thing to remember and help us all feel we are following our calling is, use the talents God has blessed you with to best of your ability. Some people feel that because they don’t have the talent to preach, teach, sing, lead prayer, or publicly read scripture, they don’t have the talents they need to properly serve God. Nothing is farther from the truth. In I Corinthians 12 Paul illustrates how important each member of the Lord’s church is. He uses the illustration of the church being a physical body. He reminds us that not everyone is going to have the same talents and that just because some people have talents that make them more visible, that does make them any more important than any other part of the body, nor does it diminish the importance of those who possess less visible talents.
Maybe you’re a good cook. Maybe you are a great mechanic. Maybe you are a whiz with a sewing machine. Maybe you are meticulous when it comes to cleanliness. You might have the gift of wisdom and knowledge, the gift of comfort, the gift of edification, the gift of hospitality, or the gift of giving. The list could go on and on, however, I believe you get the picture.
What does all of this have to do with conquering our Promised Land? In order for Israel to finally enter the Promised Land, God waited until all of the unfaithful generation passed away. Once faith was restored among Israel, God led them in. So, remove all doubt and have faith that God has given you the exact gifts that He wants you have. Trust Him to lead you in how to use those gifts. Once we focus our sight on God and use the talents he has supplied us with, we will no longer be wandering in a “spiritual wilderness” and we, like Israel, will conquer our Promised Land!
Read Romans 12:1-21