Wilderness Wanderings – Part 1

Featured ~ Sowmya Gali

Numbers 14: 22 – 24

“Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.”

Israelites were eye witnesses to God’s awesome power while in Egypt, during the exodus from Egypt and while on their journey towards the Promised Land. They have seen how God destroyed the Egyptians, and their gods. They were eyewitnesses to the pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They witnessed how the Lord of Hosts parted the Red Sea for them to cross. They feasted on Heavenly Manna, quail and water from the rock while in the desert. Despite witnessing and experiencing God’s protection, and provision, they still did not believe in God fully.

When Moses sent the twelve spies to scout the land they were going to possess, ten of the spies came back with a negative report. For forty days, they surveyed the land and all they could see was how miniscule they were like grasshoppers (Numbers 13: 33) before the people of Canaan. On the contrary, Caleb and Joshua, who were fully aware of God’s awesome power, believed that a God who could annihilate a massive Egyptian army is well able to dispossess these Canaanites from the land. Caleb and Joshua were certain in the power of the Almighty God. After their return, their positive report based on what they believed couldn’t prevail upon the negative report of the other ten spies who were afraid of what they saw.  

Because of their lack of faith in the Almighty God, the Israelites were doomed to wander in the desert for the next forty years, a year for each day they spent scouting the Promised Land. Until every single one of them died in the wilderness, God did not allow them to enter the Promised Land. Only Caleb, Joshua, and the younger generation, were able to enter the land, dispossess the Canaanites and claim the inheritance.

We have seen God’s awesome power, His protection, and His provision numerous times in our lives. Yet, we have not fully obeyed the Lord like Caleb and Joshua. We still doubt and shirk away from His promises. We are comfortable living in the past with our old self. No wonder we are unable to see the goodness of God in our lives. Our own unbelief is stopping us to witness the power of God in our lives. We have no right to say that God is far away or that God doesn’t listen to our pleas, when we have to introspect where we are lacking in our own faithfulness and obedience towards God.

2 Corinthians 5: 7

For we walk by faith and not by sight.

Precious Saint of God, instead of blaming God for all the evil or wrong that is happening to us, let us look within our own hearts and see where we have been disobedient to God’s commands. God has already blessed us. A Promised Land awaits us. All we need are eyes of faith and an obedient heart to enter the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey, where our hungry souls will be satisfied. Let us strive to walk by faith in an Almighty God and in obedience to Him, who is well able to preserve us and lead us to the Promised Land. Let us not walk by sight in unbelief and disobedience, thereby, miss out on the blessings that are in store for us. May our good and faithful Lord preserve us as we walk in total belief in Him.

The Budding Friendship

~ Sowmya Gali

Lunch was a quick affair but Vandana ate to her heart’s content. Prashanth seemed a bit distracted as his cell phone seems to be buzzing every three minutes or so. Satyamma shot angry looks at him.

“If I can’t discipline the father, how can I expect the kids to behave well?” mumbled Satyamma.

Vandana ate in silence and soon excused herself to retire to her room.

As she made her way to her room, Prashanth caught up with her.

“I’m really sorry, Dr. Mittur for my behavior back there,” apologized Prashanth. “I’ve been working on a project for a company in Mumbai, and there they developed some technical issues,” explained Prashanth.

“Did Satyamma make you apologize or do you really mean it, Mr. Kumar?”

“What?”

Surprised, Prashanth turned to her to see a smile creeping up her face from her lips to her eyes and he instantly realized she was teasing him.

“I’m really sorry, Dr. Mittur,” said Prashanth, a bit taken aback by her expression.

“Oh! Mr. Kumar, I was just teasing you. No offense taken. I completely understand. I am also like that. In our profession we must be available at all times. One cannot foresee when an emergency arises. You don’t have to apologize,” assured Vandana, gently patting his arm.

Prashanth felt a warm tingle permeate from his arm to the entire body. She seems to be completely oblivious of the feelings stirring inside him.

“Thanks, Dr. Mittur. I hope you can rest well. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call either me or someone in the house. I will be gone for an hour to pick up the kids and for a bit of shopping but should be back home by tea time. You can rest up as much as you want. One of us will knock on your door if you don’t show up for dinner, though,” he confirmed, walking to her door.

“Thank you, Mr. Kumar. I need to get some sleep. I’m afraid my hunger pangs will not allow me to sleep for too long,” she said, opening her door. “I guess I will see you and the kids at dinner, then,” she said stepping in.

“See you then, Dr. Mittur,” said Prashanth.

Vandana closed the door behind her, leaned on the door and thought how comfortable she is getting around this man. Despite working around men all her life, she never felt so at ease. She was pleasantly surprised that her sense of humor popped out of the blue after so many years. She smiled as she walked to the patio door. She stepped out for a while, taking in the warm afternoon breeze.

Indeed, it was much warmer than the morning. She walked back and forth, reading the documents that Mr. Kumar handed to her that morning. She read carefully before signing any of them. She spent a good thirty minutes, when her eyes started drooping. She closed the curtains to make the room a bit darker but let the door to the patio open for some breeze. She turned on the fan, changed into pajamas, looked at her big, comfortable and inviting bed. Resisting the urge to jump in, she sat at the edge to feel the softness of the bed. Slowly, she raised her feet up and laid down her head on the pillow. Never in her life had she slept in such a cozy, soft bed.

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