These are thoughts in light of the current state of affairs in life. It was part of a longer post, but the beginning of the post is repetitive, so I cut it. In the Wilds It’s a chance to truly walk by faith. What else can I do? Out in this wilderness there isn’t any food except what God provides from heaven. And there isn’t any water if He doesn’t open a rock. There is nothing but thorns and rocks, and my feet hurt from stumbling. Yet, in the sunrise there is brilliant color painted across the sky. And there is laughter as my children play with the tumbleweed and examine the delicate patterns embedded in the stones. There is a cool breeze caressing my cheek that whispers “remember His faithfulness.” And there is a stillness and a quiet, where, over the pounding of my heart and the tears in my eyes, I am not alone. I will learn to hear, and to wait, and to walk. But mostly, I will learn He is Holy and sovereign and faithful. Hear, Obey, my child. YHWH is GOD, He is One. And I am not alone.
The post today, or rather yesterday, at Today’s Word brought out a lot of comments, and one of the posters expressed how lonely and isolated she felt now that she is trying to follow Torah. I can relate to that! Another poster responded to her and reminded her how God uses the wilderness as a place of renewal and teaching. Skip has SO many wonderful teachings on that! So I wanted to post some of them here. There’s one in particular I’m looking for, but I don’t think I’ve found it yet. Oh well, these are are still a great reminder that the wilderness is not necessarily a bad place to be! Days in the Wilderness Are you thirsty? The wilderness creates a desire for life-giving water, and the only one who can provide that in the wilderness is YHWH! Like the desert deer, we are in a place where the only hope for survival is to draw near to the Living Water. Theological Geography Our culture tends to think of running to the mountains as a good thing to do in order to find safety. However, to the Hebrew people that was nuts. Wide, open spaces meant that they could see what was coming long before it arrived (in contrast to a mountain that was full of narrow valleys that could easily hide danger). Perhaps we should seek these wide, open places even though (or maybe because) they force us to rely on God’s protection instead of the edge of a cliff or a twist in the valley. Redemptive Purpose The desert is where YHWH brings His people so that they can worship Him. It’s away from the world, part of His kingdom. It’s where He provides nourishment to His children, teaching them to rely on Him for everything they need. There are definitely benefits: there are fewer distractions, I have to trust Him to provide, He protects me, and it helps me learn about His kingdom. Movable Feast The Feast of Sukkot (which actually just ended on Saturday, I think) is all about celebrating God’s faithfulness and protection in the wilderness! By living in “booths” (tents) for seven days, we are reminded of Israel’s journey through the wilderness and His protection and provision. Instead of just listening to the “stories” we live the historical (and present) reality of His Kingdom. Next year I hope that my family can celebrate some of these holy days. God commands them to be celebrated with good reason. Instead of holidays emphasizing candy, costumes, or piles of presents, His holi-days are reminders of the amazing gifts and privileges (and responsibilities) we have as adopted children, and of His incredible faithfulness, provision and protection.
Psalm 63:1 A Psalm of David, [fn] when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; I shall seek You [fn] earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh [fn] yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. This should actually read: A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; I shall seek You early, seek you early; My living being (all of it – mind, body, soul, etc.) thirsts for You, my flesh longs for/pines for You, In a dry and weary land without water. In Hebrew when a word is repeated it’s done to emphasis something. In this verse the word for “seek early” is repeated twice giving the word added significance. It’s not a casual looking for something. It’s a hunt, it’s serious and in depth, it’s passionate, and somewhat desperate. Seek seek. Look hard! The wilderness is any place where a person can’t support themselves. It’s where the only way to survive is for the grace of God to intervene. It’s not necessarily a desert, although it does help to see it that way. Yeshua is the living water. Imagine the Dust Bowl in the 1930′s. I’d imagine that when it rained it was glorious! People would probably want to dance in the streets instead of hiding inside. Water was desperately needed to grow food. Water gives life, and without it, we can’t live very long (I think it’s three days that a person can go without water). Skip describes the wilderness like this [1]: The wilderness is a very important piece of geography in the Bible. We think of it as the place of the temptations. That makes it Jesus’ problem; one which he, being God, overcame. But if we think of the wilderness only in mythical terms as some battleground between Satan and the Christ, we have robbed ourselves of a great truth. The wilderness is not the territory of Satan’s evil empire. The wilderness is God’s home. The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. The Spirit took Jesus to the place where God could be found to offer all the sustenance Jesus needed before Satan arrived at God’s doorstep. The wilderness is the place of refuge, not of battle. Why? Because the wilderness is the place where I must confront my powerlessness. When Israel left Egypt, God kept them in the wilderness for forty years. They could have marched to Canaan in a few weeks. There were much shorter routes. But they were not ready to possess the Promised Land. They had slave mentalities. God needed to reconstruct their thinking. And He did that by showing them what it is like to live in His house. Daily bread from the hand of God. No planting. No harvesting. No storage barns. Living water from rocks. No wells. No cisterns. No canteens. Victory over enemies. But no fortresses, no shock troops, no military prowess. What was it like living in God’s house? It was complete powerlessness under the authority and reign of the Lord of Hosts. It was learning the truth of “Be anxious for nothing”. For forty years God provided what life needed. Food, shelter and security. An entire generation’s worth of daily lessons. In our wildernesses, do we learn those lessons or do we sit down and give up? Do we seek seek God? Do we crave Him and His living water? Or do we become dried out husks because we refuse to go on the hunt? Have we become so accustomed to being dry that we don’t even realize how desperate our situation has become? Seek seek Him. Drink of His living water, His life-giving water. His words. [1] Moen, Skip. “Dead Ends.” Hebrew Word Study | Skip Moen . N.p., 10 Sept. 2009. Web. 30 May 2010. <http://skipmoen.com/2009/07/10/dead-ends/>.
Numbers 20:5 and why hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to bring us in unto this evil place? no place of seed, and fig, and vine, and pomegranate; and water there is none to drink. I think it’s a little crazy how often the Israelites forget why they’re wandering in the wilderness. Okay, maybe crazy, but I do the same thing. Here the Israelites blame Moses and Aaron for making them wander around in “this evil place.” Funny, they also led them to the Promised Land, but the Israelites refused to enter… How often does God bring me to a place or opportunity that He has for me, but I refuse to go in out of fear or uncertainty? Or I am continually disobedient in an area and require some training… which may involve walking through a dark valley. I have a tendency to blame God and ask why He makes me go through this kind of thing. I forget my role in everything – that I asked to be more like Him or that I chose disobedience, or that I didn’t want to enter a situation that seemed too big for me… Also, it may seem the wilderness has nothing to sustain me, but that’s not necessarily true. I may not be able to find or provide sustenance, but it’s not about me – God can provide in any way that He wants, even miraculous ways. I don’t walk the wilderness alone. I don’t provide for myself. God is there in the silence and the emptiness. The very quiet of the desert and the lack of my own provision is the opportunity to hear God and to allow Him to provide for me. I am totally dependent on Him and He has another chance to show me (again) how incredible He is.
Hosea 13: 5-6 I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. But when you had eaten and were satisfied, then you became proud and forgot me. Here is a warning that speaks to me. My family has been walking in the wilderness for quite some time (feels like forever). And when we are in need and there’s nowhere else to turn, it’s easy to remember to turn to God. However, there will come a time (I believe) when we will eat and be satisfied, metaphorically, and in that time, it’s critical to remember God and all he’s done. It’s easy to become proud and think that I did it all or that I can do it all, and to forget that what I have is by the grace and mercy of God. It’s easy to rest and be complacent and forget to seek the face of the One who rescued me. But that’s the critical mistake. That’s what Israel did. If I do that, then it’s a surefire bet that God will bring me back to that wilderness until I remember that He is the one who’s done it all and who provides each meal and the money to buy food and to drive to work each day. I believe that one day (soon I pray) that my family will be brought out of the wilderness. And I pray that I will remember these verses as a warning to continue to seek God, even when the storm has abated and the waves aren’t so overwhelming.