the forest for the trees

“And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet.”

- Deuteronomy 29:5

This season of life has been so full of blessings. Page after page has turned and keeps turning to reveal just how good God is. This verse has been such a sweet reminder to me in times of hardship, but it is even sweeter in times of joy.

When I think about the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, I cannot help but think what emotions they were feeling towards God. I can imagine there were times where they felt hopeless and abandoned. Times where they felt hopeful, where they felt the presence of God so near.

An expression that comes to mind is: don’t miss the forest for the trees. How hard it must have been to wander and wonder. How could you not focus on the trees? The trees of fear, frustration, and regret must have loomed over the Israelites. But how beautiful the forest was when they finally looked past those trees. How beautiful the plan God had laid out before them was when they trusted in his faithfulness. The one thing that was consistent in the midst of the emotions- good or bad- was the faithfulness of God and his promises.

Entering into this week, I am reminded of the times of wilderness in my life. Those times that forced me to cling to God’s promises of justice, goodness, and his plan. Standing here, now, I look down to see my sandals still intact and my clothes in perfect condition. I see that amidst all that wandering, the Lord was providing. I see the forest.

With all these life changes, I am thankful for a God who has always, always been faithful. I am thankful for the hope the Lord has given me in the wilderness. I am thankful for a God who has had a plan for me since before I was born. I am thankful I didn’t miss the forest for the trees.

“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing.”

- Deuteronomy 8:7-9