Every once in a while, I read something in the Bible that makes me go, “Hmmm.” I think most of us are familiar with the Jews wandering through the wilderness for 40 years because of their lack of belief. When they had arrived at the Promised Land, they sent out 12 spies to survey the land and report back. When the men returned, they saw the land was good, but they also spread a bad report saying, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size” (Numbers 13:32 NIV). Only Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb believed God would give them the land He had promised, giving them victory over all obstacles. The people believed the bad report and were sent off to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until all of those, except Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, who didn’t believe the Lord, perished.

Today, I read this verse from Nehemiah; “For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen” (Nehemiah 9:21 NIV). When I read that verse, it occurred to me how well the Lord took care of all of these people who had disobeyed Him. The people “lacked nothing.” Their clothes didn’t even wear out! I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind having clothes that didn’t wear out.

What stands out the most though, about this verse from Nehemiah, is the word, “lack.” We are told they lacked nothing. Another place this word shows up that comes to mind is in Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Psalm 23:1 (NIV)

Sometimes, I think we can see the promises of God as being conditional. We might look to a verse like Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (NIV), and think God will only give us everything we need if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. God does desire our obedience and wants us to follow His ways rather than our own. However, who He is and the promises we have from Him are not dependant on such temporary things as us. The thought that comes to my mind, about those Jews wandering for 40 years, is this, if those people, who disobeyed God and didn’t believe Him, lacked for nothing, then surely, those of us who are walking in faith, will lack nothing.

I confess this might be human reasoning, but it’s based, not on temporary things, but on the unchanging word of God that tells me, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 NIV).

Do you know God? God knows you and He loves you. He sees you as significant because you are. No one is insignificant to Him. He’s with you today, right now, and He wants you to know Him. Jesus died for your sins and mine so we could be free of guilt, be freed from death, and live eternally with Him. Eternal salvation is just a prayer away.

Pray this prayer with me to accept the gift of salvation today:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer then congratulations! You are on the first step of a brand new life. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to my family, the family of God. There are abundant resources available online for new Christians. You can visit here for more information on what to do next. You can also leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to help you on the next step of this incredible journey.

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