By: Steve Wilmot
Edgerton, Ohio
Forty. Forty is the atomic number of zirconium. Forty winks mean a short nap.
Forty is the highest number ever counted to on Sesame Street. (Bet you didn’t know that.) Forty is the only number whose English name has its letters in alphabetical order. (Bet you didn’t know that either.)
Some say, “Life begins at forty.” Others dread turning 40 years old thinking their lives are over. The number 40 has significance in Scripture, too.
Rain fell 40 days and 40 nights during the Great Flood in the days of Noah. The 12 spies explored the Promised Land for 40 days. Moses’ life was divided into three 40-year segments.
Goliath challenged the Israeli army twice a day for 40 days. On the heels of his baptism and initiation into his public ministry, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan.
By the sheer repetition of 40 days or 40 years throughout the Bible, it seems to be a deliberate time span. Forty seems to be a period of testing: “Will you trust me and do what I tell you to do, or not?”
Whether your periods of testing run a literal 40 days or 40 years, the question remains the same for us: Will you trust God and do what he tells you to do, or not?
The 40 days or years of testing is designed by God as a time of preparation for what he has in store for you. Something you can’t pull off until you’ve decided you really do believe God no matter what. And because you believe him, you will do whatever he says no matter how crazy or scary it appears to be.
When Moses thought he could deliver Israel in his own strength and power, God sent him into the wilderness to herd sheep for 40 years.
During those four decades, Moses learned he could trust God. Even though he was hesitant — to say the least — to return to Egypt and deliver Israel God’s way, he obeyed and went.
Those 40 years of testing prepared him for the seminal purpose of his life. Despite his fear of Pharaoh and the opposition of his own people, Moses did what God told him to do. That never would have happened without God shaping his character and faith over 40 years of difficulty in the wilderness.
Could it be that the things you’re facing right now have a larger purpose than what you are seeing? What if God is preparing you for the fulfillment of the destiny he created for you? Could it be he is using those trials to show you that you can trust him?
I know that 40 days or 40 years is a long time. But while you plod through your period of testing, don’t lose sight of the fact that God is with you, and he is preparing you for something amazing. Something that will require greater faith. Something that demands you go through what you’re dealing with right now.
There is victory on the other side of 40. Noah found a brand-new world and received a guarantee from God illustrated by the rainbow.
The second generation of Israelites conquered and possessed the Promised Land. David killed Goliath and Israel defeated the Philistines. Moses led Israel from Egyptian slavery to freedom and the Promised Land.
Jesus resisted every temptation from Satan and remained the sinless sacrifice we needed to take our place on the cross — the Innocent One suffering the sentence for the guilty.
If we learn anything from all these guys, it’s that whatever difficulties we go through will be worth it someday. Repeat that to yourself: It’s gonna be worth it someday.
So stick with it. Let God use your ordeals — regardless of how long they last — to do his work in you, so he can do his work through you.
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.
