Wilderness Walking || Exit CHANGED

Over the last few weeks the word “wilderness” has come to mind over and over again and what the wilderness signifies. A dry and weary land…

In the Holy Scripture we see the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years (Exodus). This 40 years was a time of testing, refining, growing, and learning… It was a time filled with unknowns. Their path took many many turns and it was NEVER straight. But one thing that was constant was the Pillar of Fire by night and the Cloud by day. THIS was constant. GOD was constant. Never changing. Consistent. Always leading, always calling them by name, telling the Israelites FOLLOW ME. By the time they reached the Promised Land, they were not the same. They had been refined. But most of all, had seen God work MIGHTY wonders.

Before Jesus began His ministry He was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). The wilderness is often baron and stark. There is little vegetation and it is a lonely place. Jesus spent 40 long and lonely days away from people. He was isolated, hungry, and tired, thus making everything about His situation extremely vulnerable. Jesus, while yes the Son of God, was fully human like you and me. Every earthly “comfort” was taken away. And while He was stripped of all of the earthly comforts like food and shelter, He was tempted. His human nature was put to the test. But these 40 days did not draw Him away from His source of strength, His Father. It drew Him closer.

When we are stripped from our comforts, exhausted, and hungry, we are extremely vulnerable in every way. And right now, many of us have been stripped from our comforts of normalcy. We have been isolated and led out into a stark and baron wilderness. Everything around us feels strange. We have been sent into a time that has removed our comforts. Our longing for human relationships have skyrocketed. Our longing for normalcy is heavy. But even in the wilderness, do not miss what God is doing!!! In the wilderness there is refining, there is strengthening, there is purification. God is doing something MIGHTY even in our waiting, even in our wilderness walking.

So in this wilderness season we are in, let us not focus on the circumstances that are around us, but press in to what God is doing and what He is about to do. Our circumstances have stripped us from our comfortable norms. It has removed us from gathering as a congregation, yet scattered us throughout our communities with the Gospel in our hands. It has forced us to communicate with others in ways not normal to us. To reach out and be the hands and feet of Jesus in a NEW way.

My prayer for you and for me is that we would not exit this wilderness walking unchanged. But instead, emerge CHANGED. Emerge with great and powerful testimonies of how God used us, changed us, stripped us of our earthly desires and replaced them with Heavenly purpose. May we not hide, but boldly walk in the Power of Jesus’ Name unafraid to touch the leper. Unafraid to speak Truth. Unafraid to be His hands and feet to dry and weary land.

Let us exit this wilderness walking CHANGED.

Psalm 63:1-8
O God, You are my God.
Earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You.
My body yearns for You
in a dry and weary land without water.
So I have seen You in the sanctuary
and beheld Your power and glory.
Because Your loving devotion is better than life,
my lips will glorify You.
So I will bless You as long as I live;
in Your name I will lift my hands.
My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with joyful lips my mouth will praise You.
When I remember You on my bed,
I think of You through the watches of the night.
For You are my help;
I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.