"Find Me in the Wilderness"

What do you think of when you see the word “wilderness”?  Professor Google defines it as “an uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region, a neglected or abandoned area of a garden or town, or a position of disfavor, especially in a political context.” It’s always interesting to me to read a definition and then ponder what that really means in context of God.

Many of us often say we are in a “wilderness season.”  To the majority of us, that means we feel out of God’s favor, out of His reach and have no direction or clarity.  We think of the Jews that wandered in the desert for 40 years after God delivered them from Egypt.  But, too often we forget that God traveled with them – a cloud by day and a fire by night.

The Lord went ahead of them.  He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire.  This allowed them to travel by day or by night.  And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people. Exodus 13:21-22

Isn’t it interesting that we forget the fact that God went before them?  That His Spirit was constantly with them as they traversed the dry, hot terrain?  They did not go without - He provided food (manna), water and neither their clothes nor shoes wore out.

And, still, the people of Israel, the chosen nation of God, murmured and complained.  An entire generation missed out on the blessing of the new land because they could not stay focused on Him. We are no different than they were.

So, what is it in us that causes us to dismiss God’s presence from our every day lives?  We can all agree that it all started in the garden when sin entered the world.  Our Father gave us free will to choose Him or choose the world.  Sometimes that decision seems to live somewhere in the gray, where we want what God has for us, but are unable to give up the comforts, desires and lusts the world makes so appealing.  Mankind has not changed throughout the ages.  We are no different from our ancestors.  Just like them, we waver like the wind and vacillate back and forth between our faithfulness to God and faithfulness to ourselves. 

I find myself in this wilderness season.  But, as I cry out to the Lord, He reminds me that the wilderness is not the place where we are lost and forgotten.  It is the place where our dependence on Him becomes critical to our very existence.  It’s where our faith either leads us or defeats us. 

“Where is your faith?” Jesus asks in Luke 8:25. Many days I cannot answer that question.  In Matthew 8:26, He asks “’Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!’”  Again, I cannot answer.  My faith feels so small and unable to carry me.  And yet, Jesus tells me, “’Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’” (Matthew 17:20). 

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”  Why is faith so hard to muster in difficult times?  We say we believe but our hearts are frail and fickle.  It’s no wonder our wilderness journey feels so long and drawn out. And, still, He calls to us, “Find Me in the wilderness.”

I’m reminded of Jesus.  Luke 5:16 tells us that “… Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.”  I know that Jesus was fully God and fully Man while he walked upon the Earth.  His need to withdraw and pray shows me that He had to lean on faith in His Father’s plan.  As He remembered how the Holy Spirit lead the people of Israel in the wilderness, He knew He could and would commune with His Father in the wilderness.  And, because His faith in Who He was and what the Father would provide for Him, Jesus sought His Father out in the very place most of us dread to venture.  And we know, His Father met Him there.

Beloved, are you in the wilderness?  It is not such a dry and desolate place.  It is not where you have lost favor with God.  It is not where you are abandoned and forgotten.  No, it is the place God leads you so He and He alone can show you His way.  It is the place where His presence never leaves you nor forsakes you.  It is the very place where He finds you and welcomes you into His arms.  It is the place where He makes things new.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19

One Tear At A Time

Some days are harder than others.  Some are even harder still.  Lately, there are more of the latter.  Putting it all into words is difficult.  All I know is that these days are full of tears.  

There was a time when I couldn’t cry.  The pain in my heart was so deep, it practically surpassed the place where my tears lived.  I wanted to cry, but I think I felt numb.  Sometimes, I wish I was numb once again. Crying takes a lot of energy (and makes my eyes puff up!)

I know I’m not the only one to bring my tears before God.  I can’t imagine the ocean of tears that is brought before Him on a daily basis.  But, as I write, I am reminded that how we bring our tears before God can determine how we move through the pain that causes them.

In Luke, Chapter 7, verses 36 through 50, we read about the woman who came and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them away with her hair.  She then anointed him with the precious perfume of her alabaster jar.  The Pharisees were appalled, as they knew her only to be a sinful woman.  But, Jesus looked at her tearful offering to be one of pure love and adoration.  And, he said to her, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”(v. 50, NLT)

There is so much to unpack in the entire passage.  However, I’m feeling led to concentrate on the last verse.  I will reiterate it to help us really grasp a hold of its truth: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

First, let’s look at the woman’s offering.  She offered him not only her most prized, worldly possession, the perfume in the alabaster jar, but she offered him something even more precious – her tears.

The world often looks at weeping as a sign of weakness.  Even in our closest relationships, tears come when we are hurt, whether by word or deed.  Our tears come forth in times of physical pain, emotional trauma and even burn hot when we are angry.  Tears of joy seem to be rarer still, but if we consider this woman’s offering, we can see that her tears flowed from an incredible place deep within her soul.

Tears for the pain from the work that never seemed to end.  Tears for the wounded emotions resulting from her own choices and at the cruel words others had hurled at her.  Tears for the anger that raged within her as she listened to the world trying to define her.  Tears for the joy at meeting her Savior, and tears for the gratitude at hearing Him say, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

You and I shed tears for many of the same reasons.  Sometimes, we choose to let them fall, and at other times, we wish we could keep them hidden.  We must remember, however, that our tears are never hidden from God.  He actually values them!  

Psalm 56:8 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book.” 

It’s an incredible thought, isn’t it?  Each tear we cry is precious to our Heavenly Father; so precious, in fact, that He collects and records every one.  

And, what does He do with them? He counts them as our faith offering and extends to us His peace in exchange.  

As hard as it is to fathom, when we cry out to God and we offer Him the substance of our tears, He shows us that we can come to Him with our burdens and exchange them for His peace.  Does He not tell us, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT)

Our tears represent our burdens, the things that weigh us down and keep us from moving forward.  Instead of offering my tears to Jesus, I have held on to them too tightly, bottling them up by the gallon.  It seems as if the more I cry, the more I hold on to the things my tears represent.  

But, that is not what I’m supposed to do with my tears. No matter what caused them to form, I am to run to the feet of Jesus and pour them out as an offering, exchanging the pain for the  peace and love of my Savior.  

I’m not saying this process is going be easy.  It takes faith to lay down your pain.  It takes faith to trust God for the exchange.  Even so, if I can give Him one tear at a time, that, my friend, will still be progress, for my sorrow will eventually become joy. 

“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.”(Psalm 126:5-6, NLT) 

Be Careful Where You Till (A Flourish Devotional)

As I walk my dogs each morning, I pass a rose bush. Earlier in the spring, the bush budded with coral blooms, a beautiful sight, indeed. However, a broadleaf weed began to grow at the base of the bush. As each week passed, the weed grew taller and my dislike for it grew with it. The weed is now taller than the rose bush by at least 2 feet and is almost as tall as I am.

To be quite honest, every time I pass it, I want to cut it down. Yet, I have a problem: the weed and the bush are growing in my neighbor's yard three houses down. Let me tell you, if they were in my yard, the weed wouldn't have survived a week.

One morning last week, I passed the odd combination of plants, and the Lord said to me, "It's not your weed to kill. Every plant, no matter how beautiful or distasteful, has its purpose in my Kingdom." I heard what He said, but I didn't want to receive it.

Curiosity drove me to the internet to find out just what this weed, a.k.a, plant, might be. I discovered that it is called "Common Mullein" and actually has a variety of medicinal purposes, among other things. As it happens, the taller it grows, the more beautiful it becomes, as small, yellow flowers begin to appear as it reaches its maximum height. In my mind, pretty flowers or not, it was still just an overgrown weed.

You can only imagine the mixed feelings that followed. "But, Lord," I said, "it's such an eyesore! Why do they let it grow like that? Won't it hurt the rosebush? I wish I could cut it down!" But, as He always does, the quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit came and changed my point of view.

You see, as we discovered earlier this week, "trials till the soil of our souls so that the seeds of faith fall on fertile ground and take root." However, your trials are not the same as mine and vice-versa. The journey to our growth is individual, not collective, although you and I may be receiving the same message. The important thing to remember is this: we cannot till land that does not belong to us.

Jesus likened our hearts to that of soil in Luke 8, the Parable of the Sower. We will pick it up in verse 11:

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest. (Luke 8:11-15, NLT)

Most of us can quickly determine the nature of the soil of our own hearts. We'd like to say we are all "good soil." But, the reality is, many of us are still tilling our land, moving through trial after trial, ripping up weeds, planting new seeds and praying for growth.

I'd ask you to consider this, however: how many times have you looked at the trials in someone else's life and seen the hard ground, rocks, thorns and weeds? Have you felt like me and wanted to take charge of their lives and either turn them around or save them altogether?

You and I have no right to remove the obstacles in somebody else's life just because it makes us uncomfortable.

We are exhorted by the Apostle Paul, ". . . you must continually work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for God is the One Who works in you, both to determine and to work, for His good pleasure.(Philippians 2:12b-13, The One New Man Bible, emphasis mine). My spiritual mama and counselor puts it like this: "Each one of us is working out his own salvation and deliverance." 

Just as Jesus likens our lives to the farmer's field, you and I can look at the landscape of our lives and realize that we have enough of our own tilling to do. We lack the time and energy to till someone else's. While it is important to come along side each other and lend a helping hand, ultimately, we are each responsible for the fruit in our lives. Only by walking with Jesus can we weather the storms, endure the trials and yield the harvest He has commissioned us to cultivate.

My point is this, whatever thorn or weed I see in my sister's life that makes me squirm and feel the need to remove, the reality is that she needs to work that ground with God, and I need to see her do it. Both of us will see the glory of God manifested in her life and the promise of His faithfulness fulfilled. We overcome by the "blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony" (Revelation 12:11). Sometimes, we need to allow the ones we love to endure pain, heartache, disappointment, sorrow, loss and devastation so that we all may rejoice in knowing that God is sovereign regardless of how ugly things look.

The Lord says to Hosea in Chapter 10, verse 12, "I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’" (NLT)

There are two ways to look at this verse, as we close. First we can identify "the hard ground of our hearts" to be the rocks, thorns and weeds that are left in our lives by a prior generation, placed by our own actions and choices, or allowed to exist because God has something to teach us. 

However, I'd like you to focus on a different part of the verse, "for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you."

The thought I'd like to leave you with is this:  The trials in our lives are appointed by God. There is no hair on your head that He does not know (Luke 12:7), nor is there a trial or challenge in your life that is unforeseen (Jeremiah 1:5, Ephesians 1:4). God chooses when to allow the trials in our lives because He is ready to do a work in us. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), so do not misunderstand me. Your path, your journey, your purpose, is entirely ordained and orchestrated by your Father in Heaven, to include when and where He chooses to grow you. 

As I said before, you and I can choose how we will receive the trials in our lives. We can allow our ground to remain hardened, full of fear, bitterness, unforgiveness and the heavy stones of unrepented sin. We can allow the thorns and weeds to grow, as improper thinking, willful ignorance and inappropriate relationships choke out the good seed that has been sown into our lives. 

Or, we can embrace the love of the Father, as He uses trials, purposely and carefully crafted, to grow our character, secure our foundation and allow the seeds of faith to flourish.