Matt's Anthology

I like being outside.  Wilderness trails, hills and valleys, mountains, plains, beaches and forests.  Being outside unearths something almost primal in me.  It makes me appreciate all we have in society.  The shelter, the clothes, housing and conveniences.  I can hear things I couldn’t hear before, see things not seen before, go places no vehicle can go.  There is beautiful scenery and wonderful smells but there are also bugs and snakes and wild animals of all kinds.  It is hard to experience the beauty amidst the danger but event though it lurks all around you, I have learned that God is in the wilderness.

The book of Mark Chapter 1:1-13 talks about the wilderness. In the first chapter of Mark, the disciple is writing about the story of John the Baptist and referencing Isaiah Chapter 40: “Behold I send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight”.  John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness.  Jesus appeared in the wilderness.  The Holy Spirit descended on Him in the wilderness.  Here are three things I have learned about any wilderness experience:

Number 1:  Things are not always pretty in the wilderness.  John was clothed with camel’s-hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.  Picture this;  John is in the wilderness and baptizing people in the Jordan River.  Now not only is the Jordan not the cleanest of rivers but this guy is wearing camel-hair clothes with a leather belt.  Can you imagine him being wet from being in the river and eating locusts.  Every Sunday we go to churches, nice buildings with things all decorated to hear someone with their hair just perfect, suit all clean, shoes all shined, calling us to God.  Now there is nothing wrong with those things but John was not all dressed up.  John was not concerned about His appearance.  John knew that Jesus was coming to see Him no matter what He looked like, smelled like, whether he ate or didn’t eat, whether he was wet or dry.  John  knew God was coming to meet him just as he was.

Number 2: God is calling us all to the wilderness and He wants to give you power there.    Verse 5 says all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people were being baptized by him in the Jordan River confessing their sins.  All the people were going out to him.  All the people.  Even Jesus went out to the wilderness to be baptized.  Verse 9-11: In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him; and a voice came out of the Heavens: “You are my beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased. Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.

Number 3: God cares for you in the wilderness.  Jesus, in the wilderness, was tempted by Satan and He was with the wild beasts and the angels were ministering to Him.  Now follow me for a minute because I know God knows everything but I believe Jesus learned (in experience)  what it was like to be a man in the wilderness.  He experienced what we experience, He was tempted like we are tempted, He felt what we felt, He got hungry like we get hungry, He needed the Father like we need the Father.  And the Angels were ministering to Him.  God’s created messengers/servants were taking care of Him, watching over Him, present with Him, in the wilderness.

As I write this, my third cousin, “Little Keith” is lying in a hospital bed trying to recover from a devastating motorcycle accident.  The doctors are taking it day by day.  He is in ICU and can’t have visitors for fear of infection…  Wilderness.  The family sits and waits for the reports day by day not knowing the outcome…Wilderness.  Maybe you go to a job you can’t stand, have unhealthy relationships, feel all alone, think that no one cares…Wilderness.  Maybe you struggle with an addiction, a secret you can’t tell…Wilderness.  Whatever it is remember that even though things aren’t pretty, God is there and He wants to give you power.  He wants to meet you just as you are in the wilderness.  He wants to care for you in the wilderness.  So let me be the voice in the wilderness assuring you, He’s out here…

~ by MGilstrap on May 4, 2010.

Posted in Biblical Lessons