The Wilderness

 The wilderness, the hard place of life, changed them.  They never wanted to go back.  Even so.  They did.  Their child endangered others.  Again. They were hurled back into the wilderness, a world of hurt, chaos, blame, and shame.  They did not discuss it, with others or, even one another.

By not saying anything, it felt like it was less real.  But.  It left them alone.    

Before you judge, the wilderness is part of the experience of life.  There are lists of things that bring us to the wilderness.

Loss.  Disappointment.   Accusations.  Aloneness. Hurt.  Harm.  

 How we walk through the wilderness changes the course of our life.  The wilderness is the place where the impossible resides, where we feel that we are at a dead-end, and where we find ourselves lost and alone.

The thing is . . . everything about the wilderness is hard . . . but it does hold lessons that will strengthen us . . . if, we are  willing to learn.  

The first lesson to learn is, we are unable to handle life alone; we need God.  We need to seek Him first, refusing to let the stuff in the wilderness become all-consuming, believing God is intimately present.  I am encouraged by what happened to the man called John the Baptist, a tough man, a man's man.  He literally lived in the wilderness.   And, John needed God.  Luke 3: 2 says the Word of God came to John in the wilderness.    Which means, that even in the wilderness, we are not alone.  God is present with  a word, a life message, for us to step into with trust.

Consider. 

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91: 1-2, NIV)

When we are in the wilderness, we will come to a place on the path when we know we can't do it . . . alone . . . and we learn we really do need God.  That said, fear in the wilderness often keeps us from doing anything different, making us think that nothing is going to work, blocking our perspective of faith so that all things seem impossible.  And, yet, the word of God comes.  Right in the center of the wilderness, where we must make a decision.  Will we walk in fear or faith? When we decide to walk in faith, we are enable to attach ourselves to the word of God, as John did.  Look again at Psalm 91, there is such a difference when we receive it as God's personal-active-living message, dwelling in the shelter of the most high, resting in the shadow of the Almighty, rather than spending any time in fear, stress, and impossibilities.  And.  There is power in speaking the Word as the Psalmist did, God is my Refuge . . . God is my fortress . . . I put my trust in God.  We declare and claim our place is in God, even in the wilderness of life.

We need to be intentional and focused on God when we come to the wilderness of life.  So. Stop.  Break away from the fear and the impossibilities that invade the wilderness.  The Word of God has come to you.  Attach yourself to God and His message.  Step into the Shelter of the Most High. Breathe.   Rest. Release the worry, stress, pressure, and stuff that comes at you.  Speak the Word, declaring it as your personal word that has come to you in the wilderness.  Experience the power of God's Word in live action.

When you leave the wilderness . . . you will remember the lessons . . . you will be better, stronger, and ready for the next thing that comes into your life  . . . because . . . you experienced the power of the living Word of God coming to you.

Learning to Kickstart the day living in and speaking the Word of God that comes,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)