Rejoicing In The Wilderness
By Claire Vietri
"I think I am having a quarter-life crisis," I half-jokingly, half-seriously grumbled to my friend over the phone. "I just think you are in the wilderness," she lovingly replied. The phrase hit me like a ton of bricks. Spiritually, I certainly felt like I was in the wilderness, lost and without any sense of direction. Wandering, I no longer knew who I had become. Without knowing myself or what I wanted, how could I possibly know which path to take?
Suddenly, I thought of the Bible and saw a sliver of hope. In the Bible, times spent in the wilderness are not times when God abandons His sons and daughters to trudge through the desert without reason. The periods of exhaustion in the wilderness were periods of transformation, purification, and preparation. It is a time when God strips us of worldly distractions to rely on Him.
While not an extensive list, let us quickly examine a few wilderness experiences in the Bible. Moses fled to the wilderness after murdering the Egyptian who was beating the Israelite. After years of refuge from his past, it was there God spoke to Moses in the burning bush and told him he must return to Egypt to face his past identity to free the Israelites. In another famous instance, the Israelites then spent 40 years in the wilderness before finally entering the Promised Land. Additionally, it was in the wilderness that John the Baptist received the gift of prophecy and there that he prepared the way of the Lord.
Even our Lord experienced this wilderness. Following Jesus' baptism, which marked the beginning of his public ministry, Mark describes that "Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan, and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him." (Mark 1:12-13)
Jesus' baptism, like ours, symbolizes new birth. Immediately following, the Spirit compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness where the Spirit remained with Him. A "new birth experience" in today's world can come in various transitions. Afterward, a transformation, though sometimes uncomfortable, is often necessary. In the book of Hosea, God describes Israel saying, "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak kindly to her." (Hosea 2:14) It is tempting to believe that God forsakes us in the wilderness but He is, in fact, responsible for the orchestration of our wilderness and remains with us.
I don't know many people who would enjoy wandering in the desert for forty years. However, the desert is a place where one is cut free from the chains of their past identity, a place where one can make a fresh start. Our vulnerable state forces us to depend on God. In isolation, our past relationships fade and we enter into a deeper relationship with Him. With outside influences eliminated, our God whispers in the silence; he alone leads us and we follow.
Instantaneously my perspective shifted. I had been grumbling to friends, complaining that I felt lost, devoid of my mission. With all my carefully constructed plans shattered, I could no longer follow the road map I had once paved. I had been grumbling when I should have been rejoicing. Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus all gained clarity about their God-given missions in the wilderness, and frankly, I do not think it was a coincidence. When our treasured plans lie like shards of broken glass on the floor and an unfamiliar landscape overwhelms us, the Holy Spirit can guide us as we surrender.
The transformative power of being lost does not negate the beauty of a clearly defined mission. To walk in the confidence we are doing God's will is a gift, but if we are lost, let us rejoice in hope, as being lost often prepares us for His mission. Overwhelmed by uncertainty, sometimes we are the Israelites grumbling in Exodus 16:3, crying out for the comfort of our old life. "If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Still, God provides by sending His children manna and quail saying “I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight, you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” (Exodus 16:12)
You and I know the wilderness is not the story's end. After a grueling forty years, the Israelites entered the Promise Land. Imagine if, due to faltering trust, they forwent the glory of the Promise Land and instead settled for slavery in Egypt. A reminder that the joy of the resurrection is only possible through the crucifixion.
Still, just as the Father allures us into the wilderness, He will be the one to guide us out but only on His timeline. Though the desert heat is uncomfortable and the barren wasteland offers little to eat and drink, our Father provides for us. In our uncertainty, He is our loving Father. He guides our footsteps as a loving father guides His small child, holding their hand on a rocky path. Let us rejoice when we feel lost, let us rejoice in the transformative power of the wilderness.
