Wandering in the Wilderness

-


The man who does not permit his spirit to be beaten down and upset by dryness and helplessness, but who lets God lead him peacefully through the wilderness, and desires no other support or guidance than that of pure faith and trust in God alone, will be brought to the Promise Land. -Thomas Merton


Does anyone feel like they are wandering through the wilderness? I’m guessing that many of us are feeling that way right about now. When our pastor shared that quote yesterday, I thought of my own situations that have had me feeling like a wanderer for years. I thought of so many of you still waiting on God’s promises.  Maybe it’s a loved one you are waiting to come back to the right path, a marriage broken, dreams shattered. Whatever it is, you’ve been in that desert waiting so long that maybe you feel as if God has forgotten you.


Even though it feels like you are wandering alone in that desert, I want to remind you that the Lord will never ever leave you. He is rearranging the universe around you for your good and His glory, and teaching you lots along the way (if you let Him).


Did you know that it should have only taken 11 days for the Israelites to reach the Promise Land? Yep. But because they walked in fear instead of faith, because they were disobedient to their Creator, because they were rebellious, because they traveled with a herd mentality, among other things, it took them 40 years to get to the land they were promised.


Is any of that familiar to you? Unfortunately, I have fit that description more times than I’d like to admit. If we trust the Lord and seek his will, then when we are ready- when we along with the universe has been arranged just right, we will reach our Promise Land.


“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33


Today, I encourage you to put on your traveling hat. For some of us the road is long. Don’t stop trusting the Lord. He is with you every step you take.


He is for you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should Someone Call an Exorcist?

-
Image
Last Friday I went bowling with some of my family. I am aware of my low skill level, so I remained humble throughout the first game, and surprisingly finished in 1st place!  The second game began and I just knew I would dominate even more. I may not have been quite as humble. I was last on the list to go. I stood up and approached my ball with confidence. I picked it up, set my eye on the center arrow painted on the lane, then took a few quick steps forward just as I had before.  As I took my last step, I swung my arm backward, then forward, and fell flat on my face. Actually, flat is not entirely accurate. I’m pretty sure every one of my limbs flew in a different direction, and the position of my head may have had folks wondering if they should call an exorcist. I also seemed to be temporarily blinded from the fall but could hear my ball bouncing its way down the lane. Let’s pause for a moment of prayer. The problem was that I had stepped over the foul line into the lane— 1. Not reali
Read more

The Complexity of Prayer

-
Image
Have you ever considered the complexity of prayer? Have you ever had something you needed to pray about, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to talk to God about whatever the issue was? I have experienced that many times. I will call it “Prayer paralysis.” Prayer paralysis happens when you are afraid of any answer God might give you. If He says no, then you might feel bad, or sad, or even angry. If He says yes, then your fear factor increases because you just don’t think you can handle what a “Yes” entails (which essentially means that you don’t trust Him). So instead of revealing your lack of trust (Like seriously, you don’t think He knows? ), you just don’t pray. It’s kind of like when you were a little kid, and you would sit still and close your eyes, thinking that it would make you invisible. God already knows our fears of failure, self-pride, and even our trust issues, so we might as well just go ahead and lay it all at His feet. There’s another kind of prayer paralysis that I ha
Read more

Go Deeper

-
Image
  Anyone struggling with anxiety? I have struggled with it quite a bit. Then, I realize that forgetting to bring all of my anxiety-inducing problems to God, is a big part of the problem. Yesterday I talked about living in endurance mode. Part of that is taking all of the difficult things, and trying to wait them out.  If I really think about it, I may have subconsciously believed that struggling is just part of the journey and that I need to suck it up, because Jesus went through way more than I ever will.    But, “ Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)  He never intended for us to hold onto them. Sometimes we don’t bother saying anything to God because, well, He knows what’s happening. He can change it if He wants to. So we sit paralyzed—enduring! Is that familiar to anyone? Though He could whisk our struggles away at any time, part of the journey, part of our relationship with the Creator is rooted in commu
Read more