November 16

Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no path to a city in which to dwell. — Ps 107:4 BSB

“They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way”—a path unmarked, where each person walks alone, with no company to cheer them and no landmarks to guide them. This is a unique mark of the child of God: the path they walk feels solitary. This greatly increases their struggles, as they feel their challenges are unique to them. The fiery darts cast into their minds by the wicked one seem like something no other child of God has faced. The darkness in their soul, the unbelief in their heart, and the powerful workings of their corruptions all seem unlike anything anyone else has experienced.

Without any comfort except what God provides, without guidance but what the Lord offers, without support but from the everlasting arms underneath—it is a painful place to be. But it’s this very painfulness that makes the path so profitable. We need to be cut off from relying on an arm of flesh, to be completely stripped of all earthly supports, leaving only the Almighty arm that cannot fail. The Lord ensures His people depend solely on Him, allowing them no comfort but what comes from His presence and no solid testimony but what is spoken into their conscience by His own voice. His purpose is to wean us off the creature, to stop us from leaning on human compassion, and to teach us to trust entirely in Him, “whose compassions never fail,” and to rely completely on Him, “who is full of pity and of tender mercy.”