Exodus 13:20

Are you familiar with liminal spaces?

Liminal spaces are transitional areas, like hallways or bridges. These spaces are defined by the word between. And they’re often overlooked in our tendency to move toward the next event or marker of progress.

Exodus 13:20 could be considered a liminal verse in a liminal place.

It’s wilderness. Not a scenic overlook. Not much to sustain God’s people. Sure it’s the edge of the desert, but it’s still desert. If you’ve been in the wilderness times, you know there are only two experiences: in it, and not in it.

What we see as a transition place, God sees as fertile ground to show up.

There’s nothing here to rely on, lest we make idols for ourselves. There’s nothing here we can use our abilities to overcome, lest we overemphasize ourselves. And there’s nothing here to store up, lest we lose our dependence on God.

This wilderness is the place God disorients our dependence on anything outside of him, in service of growing ever closer to him.