The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness—Israel, when it went to find its rest.” 

—Jeremiah 31:2

We have survived the sword—the slavery of our own sin and unrighteousness—through Christ’s sacrifice. 

We have headed into his grace, but perhaps it hasn’t yet taken us where we hoped to be. 

We went out of Egypt thinking we would find rest, and so far, we only see emptiness in every direction. We’re wandering in the wilderness without any apparent means of survival.

We mistakenly believed that as soon as we left Egypt, we would have everything we ever wanted, but while we’re in this world, we live in the wilderness between slavery and rest.

It’s not comfortable. It’s not home. It’s not easy.

Our rest isn’t complete until we reach eternity, but we are headed there. The Lord has promised it, and only by relying on and following him will we reach our destination. 

In forty years of wandering, neither the clothing nor the sandals of the Israelites wore out (Deuteronomy 29:5). When there was no food and no water, he provided manna from heaven every day and water from the rock (Nehemiah 9:15). His provision was not the fanciest new clothes nor the finest foods and wine, but they had what they needed, and most importantly, they had HIM.

He led them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; he never left them (Exodus 13:21–22).

When the wilderness looks, to the human eye, devoid of all we need, may we remember that, for now, we’re still traveling in the wilderness on the way to our rest, but we have a heavenly Father who knows the way and has made full provision for our journey.

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