Wilderness

 

See, I am doing a new thing!

    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

    and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

 

Consider what God has done:

Who can straighten

    what he has made crooked?

When times are good, be happy;

    but when times are bad, consider this:

God has made the one

    as well as the other.

Therefore, no one can discover

    anything about their future. Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

When I think of the word wilderness and its meanings, I also think of the word “seeking”. Can we seek God in both meanings of the word “wilderness”?

Wilderness is one of those magical words that can mean something and its opposite. For example, I may compare my isolating and frightening experience to being “in the wilderness”. Or I may look at heading to the wilderness as a last bastion of peace & natural beauty, where I may be at one with nature and God.

According to Katie Orlinsky in National Geographic magazine: “Wilderness is a slippery term. It can refer to almost any environment: jungle, swamp, icebound tundra, open ocean”. She goes on to say that when referring to our national parks and preserves, it mostly means that we want to keep the area in its natural state, to not alter it or impose man-made modifications.

The term wilderness can be thought of as a paradox. I was thinking that our views on the wilderness and God’s presence can be the same. On one hand, we can feel that we have been banished to a wilderness, a place that is lonely and frightening, and without spiritual support. In the Bible many references to the word tend toward this banishment and being lost. However, it is also a place where we can fully hear God’s voice as well. Think of: God speaking to Moses in the wilderness, Jesus went to fast and pray in the wilderness. We can think of the wilderness as a place of solitude and beauty, where we can be at one with God. Where we can seek his presence and hear him more clearly without the “noise” of everyday life.

To paraphrase our final week’s study (Wednesday morning Bible study, a study on Esther): “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.” Psalm 16:5. The Message translation: “My choice is you, God, first and only. And now I find I’m your choice! You set me up with a house and yard. And then you made me your heir!” The Jewish people were destined for slaughter. Through Modecai and Esther, a turnaround occurred that ended in deliverance. No matter what “lot” we find ourselves in, God will carry us through.

An Upper Room writer says: “we will all enter a wilderness at some point – financial crisis, sickness, isolation. But God will always make a way.”  

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for your guidance and provision in all the kinds of wilderness I may find myself in, welcome or unwelcome. Thank you for the comfort of your safe arms. Amen

Donna Gustafson