WALKING IN THE WILDERNESS

What does the word WILDERNESS mean to you ? The dictionary offers us some interesting suggestions
1. Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. I find this particularly interesting ... the words NOT modified by human activity.... When God places us in the wilderness we spend allot of time on our own human activity trying to modify our environment rather than soaking in the place God wants to refine us in.
2. Wilderness is deeply valued for cultural, spiritual , moral , and aesthetic reasons. Some nature writers believe wilderness areas are vital for the human spirit and creativity : Again here the wilderness is a VITAL place for God to renew our strength, spirit and creativity in him and a place for us to rely on him alone

3. The word wilderness derives from the notion of "wildness"—in other words, that which is not controllable by humans. Our place of wilderness needs to be a place controlled by God and NOT by us in order that we exit in Gods timing and not overstay our welcome there and become bogged down and ineffective , let go and hand the control back to God .

For many of us this is a frequent cry from our lips Psalm 22;1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
We feel like we are in the wilderness , all alone abandoned by God.
Psalm 22;2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. The truth is however for some of us we choose to spend far too much time in the wilderness , yes God may well have allowed us to enter the wilderness in the beginning for his purposes to bring about change and to equip us for battle but when God has completed his work we sometimes fail to trust him and have faith in him to step forward out of the wilderness and into his plans for us.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God led them not by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God said, Lest the people change their purpose when they see war and return to Egypt. Exodus 13:17 We sometimes need to shift our wrong thinking to right thinking so we are armed and ready for all that God plans for us .

Right thinking “arms” us for battle. Going into the battle with wrong thinking is like going to the front line of a war without any weapons “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Sometimes God leads us the hard way instead of the easy way because he is doing a work in us. God led the Israelites the long, hard way instead of the short way because they were afraid and He had to do a work in them to prepare them for the battles they would face in the Promise Land. We can cause ourselves so much anxiety when God places us in what seems like a never ending wilderness , If we would only lean to submit .(Galatians 6:9) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

I have had to learn the hard way to submit, well actually I think i will constantly be learning ,or revisiting this ...I know that I have a very strong will and tenacity that God created in me but I often use this to fight against God rather than allowing him to use me for his will and purposes rather than my own.

If you are in the wilderness the only answer in this place is to completely submit to God and soak in him allowing him to restore you and equip you .

God bless you on your Journey