Wandering in the Wilderness
One of the few people who read my blog mentioned to me that it had been awhile since I posted anything. November was a very busy month at work and then my family came to see us for Thanksgiving. As far as December goes, I have no excuses, except to say that I haven't felt like being on the computer lately. I do have lots of things to say, so maybe that will change soon. And I promise to post some pictures soon too.
In the meantime, I'll post an old article I wrote for our previous Advent church devotional in 2002.
Wandering in the Wilderness
Dry, parched lands. Thirst. No home. No food. No relief from the sun. Endless days and nights. Little sleep, no rest, and always the routine.
The wilderness we journey may not be as physically challenging as the desert; however, it can be just as grueling. Should I take this job, should we have kids, should my mother go into a nursing home, should I go to this college, should I stick this out, should I have this baby (Luke 1:34)? I'm referring to those agonizing, tormenting decisions that cause us to lash out at others, lose sleep, and become stressful. We all share the humanity of wrestling with decisions. I have faith that in all our hearts we truly do want to follow God's direction. If anything we have learned that trying to go without God will only lead us to the belly of a whale. And so in our contemplating and analyzing, we struggle to know "what does God want me to do?" Yet, sometimes we receive silence. God does not shout in our ear the direction to take. He does not write in on our walls or tell our friends the answers. He does not even send us an angel to tell us why this is happening to us (Luke 1:28-38). Elijah said he heard God in the still small whisper. And sometimes we do too. But what about those times when we don't hear anything?
It is then that it seems we are left to wander in our own wilderness trying to find the way to our promised land. We may seek comfort in our friends and family, as Mary did with Elizabeth (Luke 1:39), or maybe we feel that we have no choice, as Joseph did when he contemplated quietly divorcing Mary (Matthew 1:19). Either way, we feel alone.
We know the miracle of the Advent season began with the birth of Jesus. When we picture it, we remember to include the Wise Men, camels, shepherds and angels. However, what if we were to add to our Christmas picture Moses, Abraham, or David? These Old Testament characters seem out of place in our Advent story. Yet, I think they point us towards the life we are asked to live in the light of the Advent miracle. They help us to put the struggles of Mary and Joseph into our own struggling lives. When we are facing a period of wandering, feeling directionless, we are mimicking the life stories shown to us in the Bible: Moses and the Israelites, wandering for 40 years; Abraham following God's call to "go to the land I will show (not have shown) you;" Solomon seeking to find the meaning of life (Ecclesiastes); David running, hiding, trembling from his enemies; prophets gone before us: Jonah, Jeremiah, Elijah; men of the Bible: Abel, Jacob, Joseph; and finally Mary and Joseph. Each has shown us that wandering and wondering is part of our humanity.
Sometimes it is our own doing, when we stray from God and then forget what His voice sounds like. Often times, it is planned for our own good - to prepare us, prune us, mold us, and form us. There are times when it is not explainable, and we will not ever know the answer to why we are here or even where to go. However, when we are going through our wilderness of decision-making and life, we can be comforted that
before each journey - God was there,
during each journey - God is there,
and at the end of each journey - God will be there.
He showed us with Mary and Joseph that through our obedience, our lives will be blessed. Maybe not by us giving birth to the Son of God in a manger at the end of a day's travels but definitely through this Son of God born to us 2,000 years ago. There is relief in our deserts, and His name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace - Jesus (Isaiah 9:6).
In the meantime, I'll post an old article I wrote for our previous Advent church devotional in 2002.
Wandering in the Wilderness
Dry, parched lands. Thirst. No home. No food. No relief from the sun. Endless days and nights. Little sleep, no rest, and always the routine.
The wilderness we journey may not be as physically challenging as the desert; however, it can be just as grueling. Should I take this job, should we have kids, should my mother go into a nursing home, should I go to this college, should I stick this out, should I have this baby (Luke 1:34)? I'm referring to those agonizing, tormenting decisions that cause us to lash out at others, lose sleep, and become stressful. We all share the humanity of wrestling with decisions. I have faith that in all our hearts we truly do want to follow God's direction. If anything we have learned that trying to go without God will only lead us to the belly of a whale. And so in our contemplating and analyzing, we struggle to know "what does God want me to do?" Yet, sometimes we receive silence. God does not shout in our ear the direction to take. He does not write in on our walls or tell our friends the answers. He does not even send us an angel to tell us why this is happening to us (Luke 1:28-38). Elijah said he heard God in the still small whisper. And sometimes we do too. But what about those times when we don't hear anything?
It is then that it seems we are left to wander in our own wilderness trying to find the way to our promised land. We may seek comfort in our friends and family, as Mary did with Elizabeth (Luke 1:39), or maybe we feel that we have no choice, as Joseph did when he contemplated quietly divorcing Mary (Matthew 1:19). Either way, we feel alone.
We know the miracle of the Advent season began with the birth of Jesus. When we picture it, we remember to include the Wise Men, camels, shepherds and angels. However, what if we were to add to our Christmas picture Moses, Abraham, or David? These Old Testament characters seem out of place in our Advent story. Yet, I think they point us towards the life we are asked to live in the light of the Advent miracle. They help us to put the struggles of Mary and Joseph into our own struggling lives. When we are facing a period of wandering, feeling directionless, we are mimicking the life stories shown to us in the Bible: Moses and the Israelites, wandering for 40 years; Abraham following God's call to "go to the land I will show (not have shown) you;" Solomon seeking to find the meaning of life (Ecclesiastes); David running, hiding, trembling from his enemies; prophets gone before us: Jonah, Jeremiah, Elijah; men of the Bible: Abel, Jacob, Joseph; and finally Mary and Joseph. Each has shown us that wandering and wondering is part of our humanity.
Sometimes it is our own doing, when we stray from God and then forget what His voice sounds like. Often times, it is planned for our own good - to prepare us, prune us, mold us, and form us. There are times when it is not explainable, and we will not ever know the answer to why we are here or even where to go. However, when we are going through our wilderness of decision-making and life, we can be comforted that
before each journey - God was there,
during each journey - God is there,
and at the end of each journey - God will be there.
He showed us with Mary and Joseph that through our obedience, our lives will be blessed. Maybe not by us giving birth to the Son of God in a manger at the end of a day's travels but definitely through this Son of God born to us 2,000 years ago. There is relief in our deserts, and His name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace - Jesus (Isaiah 9:6).
posted by gnat @ 9:58 AM
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