The Wilderness

What Is The Wilderness?  It is that place away from all else.  It is the escape from constant noise, demands, and busyness of life.  It is the quiet mountain top, or the dark country road on a starlit night.  It is where the children of God become still before Him; find their Creator; and, are found by Him.  It is where we are tested; and, it is where we are delivered.  It is our desolation; and, it is our deliverance.  It is where the Spirit lays claim to our full attention; and, it is where He gets it.  For it is in the wilderness that we discover the majesty of our Lord; and, it is there where we see who we are in comparison.  There we are brought low by our nothingness before God.  There we are lifted up by His endless grace and unsearchable love.  The wilderness is that place where we go to draw closer to our Lord.  It is where we go to quiet life long enough to hear the still, small voice—the voice of One crying in the wilderness—the voice of One who would make our paths straight, and set our hearts right.  And should we find the strength, resolve, and determination to go into the wilderness to be still and to listen; then we will find Him.  “Turn away,” He says, “from that which you seek for your own wants, pursuits, and desires in this life.  Repent of your sins,” His words still echo, “and follow the path of righteousness.  Listen,” He says, “to the voice that cries out in the wilderness.  Follow His voice and live life to the fullest.”

Labor of Love

1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV: Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
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There I stood—confused and weary—ready to give up. I had made sacrifices so I could be available. I had given of my time, talents and efforts. But something was wrong. I felt as though my efforts meant nothing to them. I was there for them and they didn’t seem to care. I realized I was a new face to so many of them, but when I reached out, and they withdrew, it hurt. “Was this Christian love?” I sunk back into the furthest corner of the room and considered leaving all together. And there in the quiet corner, the Lord spoke. He reminded me why I was there—I was there to serve. He assured me that if I would joyfully serve them that my reward would come from Him. My eyes focused back on God, and back on others. My spirits lifted, and I served my Lord with gladness. Ministering to others can at times be very hard labor. It can seem difficult and unrewarding. Yet, God assures us that to give ourselves fully to His work is a labor of love that will never be in vain.

Talking With God

So often we say that we sometimes pray and feel as though the words are just going into the air—we feel as though no one hears. That may be true with people, but not so with God. He hears our hearts even before we utter a sound. The problem lies within us. Though the problem may vary to some degree from person to person, perhaps there is a similar root. Perhaps why we feel that God does not hear is because we are just talking into the air. Imagine having a face to face conversation with someone wherein the whole time you never look them in the face. Simply stated, perhaps we spend more time talking at God than talking to Him. Perhaps we should try looking Him in the face when we talk to Him. So, how do we do that? John 4:24 tells us that “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” It is not with our physical eyes that we will look Him in the face, but with our spiritual eyes.