Sometimes Our Wilderness Is His Will

There you are.

Standing or spinning, maybe even crawling, in a wilderness you never expected to be in. Where your soul once felt overflowing it now feels dry.  Your environment once was lush with milk and honey spiritually speaking, full of people who knew you, loved you and you lived daily and deeply with in the 'fellowship of believers' (Acts 2). The picture of your wilderness doesn't look so bad on the outside but it's not the environment you thrive in and the worst part, you can't figure out exactly what's off or lacking in order to 'fix it.' I believe this is the part of the story where God says, 'Exactly honey!'  :-)

You've just had enough!  So you pray the Lord changed His mind and leads you elsewhere because we run from difficulty but in the difficulty is where you find your lifeline, manna. We think that if the Lord led us to difficulty, or a wilderness, that He is cruel or unloving, but it's quite the opposite.  The wilderness is full of discipline and believe it or not, purpose and ultimately love.  Look at Deuteronomy 8:2:-3

'And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.  And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.'

After some study of the Bible, commentaries and sermons from trusted men of God, I've learned to look at what the wilderness provides.

1)  It provides us with perspective.  We need to remember everything the Lord has done.  It's important to remember 'the whole way' because remembering everything that led to the wilderness will help us with perspective while we're there.  This wilderness will not last forever, though it feels like it at the time!  'It is often the length of an experience that is the trial of it', Spurgeon says in his sermon 'Moses' Dying Charge to Israel.'  

2) He led us here because He loves us enough to discipline his children (Heb 12:6). 

3) He led us here because He thought a dose of humbleness was needed. He is testing us in the wilderness so He can reveal what's really in our hearts.  Our hearts are deceitful (Jer. 17:9) and we often don't know, or want to know, what is tucked deep down but the power of His Holy Spirit will reveal all. 

4) The wilderness is a time to see if we'll follow His commands.  If we love Him we obey Him (John 14:15).

So we get to the point that the thought crosses our minds, 'maybe we should stop kicking, screaming and throwing a fit.  Maybe we should stop focusing so much on our lack of comfort and cease seeking escape.' It's time we accept the wilderness, find it beautiful in His grace.  At times He refuses release because that is not what's best for us and we need to let the fact that He is God, full of grace and knows all and is for our good lead us.

Yes, He led me here, to the point I feel my soul is deathly dehydrated.  Forty years is a long time to wander in the desert but they did get to their promised land that was promised to their forefathers. God will be no less faithful and good when it comes to our wilderness wandering.