The Hymn Come Thou Font of Every Blessing was written by Robert Robinson. In 1752 when he was seventeen years old, he went to hear George Whitefield preaching. He went drunk to the meeting planning to make fun of the preaching.
That day Whitefield preached on the wrath to come. The sermon made an impression on Robinson, and he started asking many questions about salvation. Three years later he trusted Christ as his savior. It was six years after his profession of faith he wrote the Hymn.
In the Hymn Robinson wrote, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.” He became a Baptist minister after coming to Christ, and served the Lord faithfully at first, but later Robinson was a backslidden believer and was himself wandering in the wilderness. Tragically, Robert Robinson wasted many years wandering in the wilderness.
We have recorded in Numbers 19 and 20 nearly 38 of the 40 wasted years Israel spent wandering in the wilderness. It should have been an eleven-day journey to the promised land.
The spies went out and spied out the land and came back, all in 40 days.
Israel accepted the majority report that they could not take the land God promised to give them. Now Israel was out of God’s will. They got nowhere and there is little to say about their journey. They went to a camp, then they went to another camp for 38 years.
The Christian view of history sees all of history moving in a linear fashion from the creation to the return of Christ. Other worldviews see history as a circular cycle, but Christians see history moving in a line. Not so with the wilderness wandering. Now Israel has put themselves on a hamster wheel. They may be running, but they are not going anywhere.
God has a purpose, and we are moving forward, but Israel has gone from running the race to spinning hopelessly on the treadmill. They are moving and active, setting up camp, breaking camp march long and hard and getting nowhere.
The Israelites are out of God’s will. Their days are filled with rebellion against God and murmuring against Moses. They are simply marking time in their meaningless wandering.
We don’t need to go through life in meaningless wandering. God has a purpose for you. There is no need of the tragedy of wasted years once you begin your journey with Christ.
Before you met Christ, your life before Christ was a wasted opportunity. When you are living in the world’s system without Christ and not for the glory of God, they are wasted years. Once you trust Christ the meaningless wandering is over if you walk by faith.
We need to pray that we will not wander as a backslidden carnal Christian. You left those wasted years and there is no good reason to return to them. What little time we have on earth is what we have to make a difference for Christ.
Here is Israel away from God. The great period of silence. Most of their itinerary is listed here in Numbers 33:19-49. They did not follow the ways of God. Their sign of their covenant relationship with God was circumcision. They did not circumcise during this period.
For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord, to whom the Lord had sworn that He would not let them see the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. (Joshua 5:5-6)
They did not make sacrifices in the wilderness.
For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. (Jeremiah 7:22-25)
Israel worshiped idols in the wilderness. What a miserable experience to wander in the wilderness and go nowhere with no meaning, no purpose and do direction.
You have all had probably had an experience like me. You parked your car and then later you could not find your car. You wandered everywhere looking for your car. It is a frustrating experience but let’s never live our spiritual lives like that drifting from our relationship with God and wandering without purpose.
It should not surprise us that the most miserable people on earth are Christians who have drifted far from God and then wander aimlessly. They knew the joy of their salvation and what it was like to be close to the Lord and then they wander far from God.
They are moving and going through the motions but getting nowhere. They are putting their money in purses with holes. They strive but get nothing and go nowhere.
We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:9-11)
I was walking with the hillwalking club in northern Scotland. We would see the car it was such a straightforward climb. Then a cloud descended, and we could not see far in front of us. One of the experienced club members stopped us. We need to go back up the hill and down the other direction. How could this be? We just saw the car below us before the cloud came down.
There are reports of hikers wandering lost for days in that area. Sometimes they are not found in time and come to their death wandering lost in those hills. The map, compass and experienced hiker saved us from such a fate. We need to make sure we have our spiritual bearings.
God’s will for us is not meaningless wandering in a spiritual wilderness. God has a plan for us. He has a purpose for your life when you are abiding in Him. When you are away from Christ nothing you do will have meaning.
That is why outreach ministries find so many people reaching out to accept Christ and Christians who return to a life of following Christ. There was no meaning on the path they were on. Even if there is financial security, material possessions, political power, it will not take us out of the wilderness and end a meaningless wandering. That only comes in abiding in Christ.
There is nothing but meaningless wandering without Christ. If you still don’t believe me then look up the lyrics to the Bruce Springsteen song “57 Channels (And Nothin' On).” We can search and wander and strive, but life in the wilderness is going to be a frustrating experience.
The children of Israel experienced so many empty years because of their disobedience. They stood right there on the promised land. It is called the promise land because God made a promise to give them the land. They wandered in the wilderness.
There is a fork in the road between two lives. One is life in the wilderness. The other is living by the promises of God. The promise land was not theirs. It is what God intended for them. They refused to go in by faith.
The Christian away from God is living the meaningless wilderness experience. They have been saved by grace. The death of Jesus and his resurrection power they know. But thy have turned their back on God and ended in meaningless circles getting them nowhere.
God desires all who have trusted him abundant life. Jesus said, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10) If you have never trusted Christ then definitely you are living the meaningless life.
There is a short movie called the music box. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbls7MpeUcE
It is the story of a man caught in meaningless wandering. He goes to work and puts the caps on bottles in a factory. But he sees the light, hallelujah and he hears the angels singing. He found Christ and soon he was walking with Christ.
You don’t have to wander in the wilderness. You can walk with Christ the most exciting way possible to live your life.
