“Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:19
There is nothing that will increase your strength and your character like the wilderness does. It is God’s gym; he works you out on his equipment. Good things will happen to all who exercise. The desert becomes a place of separation and resolve. It is not for the faint of heart.
This spiritual geography is also the launching pad for ministries: for Jesus’ public ministry was 40 days in the wilderness — the training for Moses’ powerful leadership of God’s people was 40 years in the desert — and maybe why you are serving your time in the wilderness, right now. It has to be. It is your place for this moment.
“In the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.'”
Deut. 1:31, ESV
Once in the desert, the Father keeps a close-eye on all his children.
At times of strenuous activity/emotion–he comes and carries us. He is exceedingly gentle, and he knows precisely what we need, and he sure doesn’t stint on his grace–he pours it out lavishly.
If you’re in the desert, know that your God is on duty. Nothing that comes to you sneaks past His alert observation and consent. (And after all, if you think about it, the wilderness is His as well.)
We seem to always be on the anvil; in the wilderness where God is shaping us for higher things. But, by faith, it is a rich place to be.
“To be commanded to love God at all, let alone in the wilderness, is like being commanded to be well when we are sick, to sing for joy when we are dying of thirst, to run when our legs are broken. But this is the first and great commandment nonetheless. Even in the wilderness – especially in the wilderness – you shall love him.”
–Frederick Buechner
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Related articles
- following Jesus into the wilderness (timpdunnett.wordpress.com)
- Surviving the Arizona Desert (local.answers.com)
