Where has God put you and where will you go?
The word wilderness derives from the notion of “wildness”—in other words, that which is not controlled by humans, even the government!. The mere presence or activity of people does not disqualify an area from being “wilderness.” Another definition of wilderness is a place uninhabited by human beings. But you are in your own little wilderness. Well then ,what are you doing there? Just passing through?
What I’ve found in the Holy Bible is that there are many instances shown where the wilderness was the setting for a learning moment, a time closer to God, even life changing events. Jesus Himself had a ministry in “towns and urban settings”. But a lot of His most important works and decisions were made in the “wilderness” be it a mountain top, or a body of water, the sea, or just the general wilderness itself.
In the old testament the Israelites experienced a lifetime of works and decisions in the wilderness. They didn’t choose to be in their wilderness. We can read that the wilderness they were in was filled with danger, heartaches, disappointments, sin, corruption, etc., etc. BUT,…… at the same time the wilderness provided them a place to grow closer to God, to experience God, to hear from God.
That’s why I say that I am a wilderness preacher. We are all in some form of wilderness. Your wilderness may have more concrete and manmade buildings than these Colorado mountains I’m looking at while writing this. Your wilderness may have lots of people going in and out of it. Lots more people than what I’m presently seeing. Well, as far as I can see from this mountain view, there is no one for miles around. Maybe a hiker, or climber, or trail rider will be passing through.
Maybe your wilderness is filled with people telling you what you can do, what you can’t do. They are telling you which flag is wrong, which beliefs are wrong. They will tell you what is politically correct. They will tell you everything you need to know about your own life. Groups of people, and even governments are now in the business of “Controlling” people. But from what I see, the more groups and Governments try to “control” the more it turns to chaos and confusion. A sense of “wildness” has overtaken our “civilized” world. Here you are living in this “wildness”, ……. and your own wilderness.
God has put you on this Earth to travel through your very own little bit of wilderness. It is and will be filled with danger, heartaches, disappointments, sin, etc., etc. But there are and will be many opportunities to grow closer to God, experience, and hear from Him.
One of my buddies at The Noble Heart campfire gatherings we have (online weekly) reminded me of what our journey truly is. We think of ourselves as physical beings with occasional spiritual times. But what we truly are is this. We are spiritual beings with an occasional physical time. This temporary physical time is called a “lifetime”. It’s an opportunity to experience “life”. We get to experience, pain, suffering, yes, even sin. But our Lord also gives us a choice to experience His forgiveness, His power, His love.
God gives each of us a soul. It’s a personal area of wilderness because it cannot be controlled by humans. What’s so amazing is that God Himself doesn’t want to “control” your heart and soul. He knows you don’t control “wilderness”. You (and He)live in it. You don’t “do” wilderness, you “BE” in it. He wants to love you. God is in my personal wilderness. What about yours?
