Roughing It?

October 9th, 2023

by Bro. Craig Amenell
10/09/2023

Psalm 105:39-41 - “He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night. The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.”

In my lifetime I have seen a rise in the popularity of reality television programs. Most often there is not anything real about reality TV, it is staged and scripted unless you tune into a program such as Alone. Within just a couple minutes of Season One Episode One you realize it can’t get any more real than that.

Just like every survival situation, the participants must very quickly meet certain basic physiological needs to survive even one day. Regardless of how talented or prepared one is for survival, the human body if left inadequately provided for, through no fault of the individual but rather the lack of resources, is susceptible to defeat.

The basic human needs include water, food, clothing, shelter, and fire. They say you can only go 3 minutes without oxygen, 3 hours without shelter in harsh weather conditions, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.

In these survival situations, we see how difficult it is for even one individual to survive off of their surroundings for very long. Why? When you are in the wilderness, and away from an established civilization, your supplies if you have any, will run out or wear out and the natural resources will dry up and run off. It is safe to say that survival in any wilderness is rough.

We find then Israel led by Moses and according to Exodus 12:37 were comprised of, “about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children” that headed into the wilderness. Can you imagine what it would take to care for that many people for even just one day? If all they had to rely on was themselves my guess would be a depletion of all resources in less than 24 hours.

That was not the case for the children of Israel. Despite their murmuring, complaining, and doubt, God met every one of their needs for 40 years. They always had water to drink and when it appeared they did not, God “opened the rock” to give them water. Every day God provided them with fresh food as they ate “the bread of heaven.” God protected them throughout the day as He “spread a cloud for a covering.” He even protected them as a “fire to give light in the night.” Concerning their need for clothing God said, “I have lead you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot” (Deut. 29:5).

By this summation, I don’t know that the children of Israel could claim that they ever had to rough it in the wilderness. If it had been possible to create their own TV show “40 Years in The Wilderness” you wouldn’t be able to convince anyone watching that it wasn’t fake reality TV. How could that many people live that long in a wilderness that seemingly possessed little to no natural resources they would say. Every one of them looks well-fed and hydrated. That clothing can’t be 40 years old! The conclusion people would come to is the producers are sneaking them food and supplies.

The truth is that God is just that good to His people. He treats us so much better than we deserve. In Psalms 37:25 David put it like this, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread.”

I am thankful that I don’t need a 40-year journey in the wilderness to know how good God is. I can confidently proclaim to the skeptics, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).