Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this journey is that a wilderness is required. For ancient Israel, the difficult wilderness was the necessary route to freedom, the winding road which would teach dependence, humility, and surrender to grace. It is for us, as well.

There is no magic transport from Egypt to the Promised Land, no route which does not challenge. Any other road other than the 'narrow road' is a dead-end, a false promise which won't deliver.

But why a wilderness?

It is in the wilderness that we learn complete trust. We cannot learn it through a book or by obeying a law. In the wilderness, we are stripped of other dependencies - reputation, relationship, religious fervor - and we're invited to face God. In Scripture, it is the wilderness confrontation with God that matures us, requiring brutal honesty.

Once toddlers trying to keep the law, now we're invited to spiritual adulthood, where real relationship and courageous engagement with God are necessary. The wilderness is not a sign of faithlessness, as if we've done something wrong. Rather, it's the only way through, the crucible of transformation where we become maturing, flourishing human beings.