A Table in the Wilderness

My wife and I decided to take a different route back home last week from my monthly teaching session with the Valley Baptist Missions Education Center.   We went from the beautiful Rio Grande Valley of south Texas and drove “up river,” meaning we drove along the Rio Grande River to the northwest rather than due north, through the palm tree lined highway. All was well until we reached Falcon Lake and turned due north toward San Antonio.  Pure wilderness!  Mile after mile of nothing but flat road, cactus, and mesquite trees, with an occasional road runner crossing the road.  For more than one hour, we drove – not a gas station, not a grocery store, not a town, not a house – nothing.   I wondered if this is what it was like when the children of Israel crossed the dessert, and became so distressed that they asked, “can God prepare a table in the wilderness” (Psalm 78:19).  The answer was of course, He could, and furthermore, He did.  Sometimes along life’s journey, the pathway turns into a wilderness road.  Life becomes dull, boring, unpleasant, and we begin to wonder what happened to God. Just as that south Texas wilderness road eventually turned into an attractive area with stores, schools, churches, and people, so God visits us in the wildernesses of our lives, and provides “a table.”   So next time your road gets long and boring, look for a table.  It may just be from God.