(TEST POST)How to Stay Faithful in the Wilderness

In many ways, the journey of God’s people from Egypt to Canaan serves as a pattern and a picture of the Christian life. As Israel moved to its rest in the promised land, so the church moves toward its rest in heaven; and as they experienced temptation and declension in the wilderness, so do we.

The pressure surrounding God’s people in the wilderness was such that they were constantly looking back to Egypt—much to God’s displeasure. The writer to the Hebrews therefore warns us (borrowing the words of Psalm 95) not to do as they did: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Heb. 3:7–8). We don’t want to look back, let alone go back, to Egypt; instead, we want to look forward and follow the example of those who have proceeded “firm to the end” (v. 14).

With this goal in view, Hebrews 3 offers us three directives. As we put each into practice, they will help us to keep moving toward the promised land and prevent us from turning our eyes back to Egypt.

“Consider Jesus”

First of all, Hebrews 3 directs us to “consider Jesus” (v. 1). Such consideration is more than a casual glance at Christ, an infrequent or careless hour or two a week given over to the things of God. In Puritan language, it means “centering down”—bringing all of life and thinking to bear on this one end. In the words of golf coach Harvey Penick, it is to “take dead aim.”1

This is the same word that Jesus used when He told His disciples to “consider” the ravens and lilies (Luke 12:24, 27). He was saying to them, “I want you to look carefully, apply your mind to this, in such a way that, in understanding the significance of what is being taught, it may become a life-transforming principle for you.” In the same way, the writer to the Hebrews is urging the readers, and us, to fix our gaze on Christ, allowing the sight of Him to revolutionize everything else.