Boot camp seems like another lifetime to me. I was there fifteen years ago at Marine Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC for thirteen weeks of rigorous physical and mental training. It was a time of preparation for what was to come- for the moment when I could call myself a U.S. Marine, and I still remember that moment well. All the push-ups, running, marching, memorization- all for that moment. Everything was timed, whether it was getting dressed, brushing teeth, eating, packing gear- and there was a method to everything we did. For example, when eating, the food and utensils could only be touched with one hand, and I remember one specific occasion when I used my other hand to butter bread, and having been seen by a drill instructor, I was sent out without finishing. There were many procedures that I didn't really understand, but my lack of understanding didn't relieve me of my duty to obey. Looking back, it all comes through now with more clarity. I was being taught to obey a voice, to listen to authority, and to set aside my own opinion and rights, even when it didn't make sense. I had to learn to trust that those in command knew what they were doing, and that they were guiding those under them toward their good, and the good of others. Similarly, God trains His people in the present for what He prepared for them to take hold of in the future. In Deuteronomy 8, Moses recounts to the people the meaning of their years of wilderness wandering, which to many, must have seemed to be a time of no purpose, or a waste, before they got to the good life in the good land. However, he says to them:
2 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. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord...5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land
Deut 8:2-3, 5-7 (ESV)
Everything that these people experienced prepared them for the time when they would take hold of what God had promised them. The lack of food and water was not punishment for wrongdoing, but training to know where true nourishment comes from. Their experiences were designed to teach them to listen to the voice of their Father, rather than the call of their stomachs. A people driven by their own appetites are a people who will wander headlong into sin and idolatry, which is exactly what Moses warned them against (vv. 17-19). It is through difficulty, trial, and testing that God, the master blacksmith, hammers and heats His metal to strengthen and prove it reliable. The circumstances we find ourselves in are not arbitrary. They are the plan of a perfect and loving Father who knows exactly what we, His children, need and He gives it to us, even though these circumstances can be painful, because He is preparing a people for a place, just as He is preparing a place for His people (John 14:2,3). God has led us, in Christ, out of the bondage of Egypt and toward the Promised Land that waits on the other side of the Jordan, but first we must learn to endure the wilderness, its fiery serpents, its difficult sustenance, and its temptation to lead our hearts astray (Deut. 8:15-17). On the other side of those trials, God will have strengthened faith, taught His loved ones to trust His voice and obey its leading, and to give Him preeminence over every other thing that competes for the heart's ultimate affection. You may find yourself in the middle of one of these experiences at this very moment, surrounded by uncertainty and feeling real pain. You may be praying for these things to be lifted and wondering why it is that you have not found the relief you seek. It could be that there is greater gain to be had by your enduring the hard road than what would be gained in the alternative. Knowing this teaches us to trust and hope through those times, rather than despair. God does not forget or abandon His children. He prepares them for a permanent home with Him. This is the training ground.
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