This morning is off to a slow start.  I have a headache.  I have a long list for the day, for the week.  My heart is heavy and my soul is parched.  Some days, I feel like I’m walking in wilderness, wandering, wanting to leave, but feeling like God is not leading me out.  This morning, I asked why.

The answer I got was simply a reminder of why God had the Israelites wander in the wilderness: And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. —Deuteronomy 8:2. 

In a lot of ways, it is not an answer I would have preferred.  It stings a little bit, to think that I need humbling.  It frightens me a little bit, to think that what’s in my heart should be brought to light; to think that my faithlessness and frailty could be exposed.  But the comfort – the hope – I find in this answer is that it reminds me that God is leading me, even in the wilderness, and that there is a purpose for it.  And, really, that’s all I need to know.