For the life of me, I simply cannot fathom being stranded in the center of a Middle Eastern desert for any length of time; not for days, not for weeks, not for months; certainly not for years. The sand, the heat, the monotonous landscape, the boredom—and more sand.
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To have any shot at survival, I would have to affix my eyes on the hope that there must be something far greater still just beyond. Of necessity, I would force myself to envision daily a given destination; one that was real, touchable... just beyond the horizon to strive for. Such as a plush land of great hope and promise. Knowing it was there, very real although very unseen, might just be enough to sustain me and keep me pressing forward. Like the proverbial horse ever in pursuit of a dangling carrot just beyond reach, a chance exists, albeit a very small one, of perhaps reaching it one day.

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Even if I had limitless hope, in and of itself, hope would not see me through.

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There would have to be more, much more. Wholly dependent on God, He would have to provide my daily sustenance; basic physical necessities like bread and water. Never letting the suspicion escape my notice: “I sense He takes great joy in leaving the impression He’s one step ahead of my every ‘give us this day our daily bread’ prayer.”‍

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Such a Wise Master to allot an exacted portion for me—not too much, not too little, but just what is right. He knows full-well, that excess sustenance before me right here, would detour my affections away from out there. He’s good that way.

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That exact scenario can be the only plausible explanation for what carried the Jews through their desert wandering some 3,500 years ago. Immediately after the Israelites broke free from the yoke of their Egyptian oppressors, they ventured into a real and seemingly endless Middle Eastern Desert. Early in the journey heads were held high, confident that as the chosen people of the Almighty, the good hand of their Lord was upon them. After all, it was He who promised,‍

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“I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord."
-Exodus 6:8

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Little did they know then but would shortly discover: what should have been an 8-day journey would drag on another 40 laborious years. Humans, like hope, are dependent upon a fuel-source to survive. Facing an endless sea of sand surrounding every side, no source of fuel to be found. Both humans and their hope started dying on the vine.

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“But God;” two of the most fitting words for God’s impeccable timeliness, the Self-proclaimed One rich in mercy and abounding in loving kindness, rained down grace upon grace from Heaven in the form of manna at every sunrise, a wafer-like substance. Moses described it as “a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground.” There was however one major stipulation, in the form of a daily test graded upon faith. The lesson learned was one of unmitigated dependence: God alone will provide.
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“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from Heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.”
-Exodus 16:4
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Yahweh only allowed the sojourners to gather enough provision to get them through each day, one day at a time, nothing more, nothing less. Recalling the landscape, can you imagine the ever-present temptation to not store up for a dry and arid day?

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The lesson was not an act of faith but an act on faith– “as He provided for me today, I’m trusting Him to provide for me tomorrow.”

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‍“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  For by it the men of old gained approval.  By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God.”
-Hebrews 11:2-3

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The grave danger for modern man is this, which also accounts for a surprisingly weak modern faith: with an ever-increasing appetite to accumulate that which can be seen, little appetite remains for the "conviction of things not seen." We've deceived ourselves into believing our supply is unlimited.  Therefore faith, trust, and hope in some other appears to be unnecessary, or maybe even archaic to some.  If we're not careful, we might find ourselves stuck somewhere we don't belong.

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Take the following analogy for instance. Imagine for a moment, if while wandering about one day, the Israelites happened upon an oasis of sorts, a gigantic storehouse full of the latest and greatest this world has to offer. Before long, they have become so attached, viewing themselves as completely self-reliant, that they decided to take up permanent residence there... in a desert no less! Growing quite chummy and chubby, abiding their own sweet time, God’s promise of a Land flowing with milk and honey would lose all allure.

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The notion of running on a full stomach to win an invisible prize? “A stumbling block!”

The notion of sharing overages to win others? “Foolishness!”

As to His bidding, “Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and you will find rest for your souls?” “Irrelevant!”

Oblivious to the fact that their storehouses will at some point empty, the following parable speaks to their folly:

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"The land of a rich man was very productive. “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’  “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’  “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
-Luke 12:16-21
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A lot of good exists in the world. I, for one, enjoy being here. But, for the Christian, this is not as good as it gets, not even close. So, the challenge for you is this:‍ If your goal is to win Heaven you’ll get Earth thrown in. If your goal is to win Earth you’ll get neither. ‍For the sake of a wounded world that needs to know Christ, please aim to win Heaven, and watch expectantly for earth to get thrown in.

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Jesus said, "For those who have ears to hear, let them hear."