Living in the Wilderness

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Mark 1:12-13

Rob Lundgren and his son were backpacking in Idaho’s Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.  Lundgren remembers crawling into his nice warm sleeping bag that night but found himself startled awake after falling into the icy cold creek. Now wide awake at 8,000 feet and 20 degrees outside, he lives out a nightmare in the wilderness.  “I hadn’t sleepwalked in over 50 years, so it was the last thing on my mind…”

Lundgren found himself in a desperate situation, needing to be rescued. Others could identify with him based on headlines from the Backpacker magazine:

Bitten by a Rattlesnake

Mauled by a Grizzly

Stranded on a ledge

Lost in an Ice Cave

Mauled by a Mountain Lion

Life in the wilderness with all of its amazing beauty is also a place of unbelievable danger. Most of us have found ourselves awakened from a wonderful dream into a living nightmare.

Eugene Peterson said it well, “There are times, no matter how thoroughly we’re civilized, when we’re plunged into the wilderness—not a geographical wilderness but what I’m going to call a circumstantial wilderness. Everything is going along fine—and then suddenly we’re beside ourselves. We don’t know what’s going on within us or in another who is important to us; feelings erupt in us that call into question what we’ve never questioned before. There’s a radical change in our bodies, or our emotions, or our thinking, or our friends, or our job. We’re out of control. We’re in the wilderness.”

The list of our circumstantial wilderness experiences seems to be unlimited. We may find ourselves unemployed because the company reorganized. We may find ourselves in the hospital because a drunk driver ran a traffic light. We may find ourselves sitting in a funeral service from the death of a loved one. We may find ourselves_______, you fill in the blank for your wilderness.

A young David finds himself being driven into the wilderness by King Saul. David had learned some lessons about living in the wilderness but now he found himself facing new obstacles for his survival. What did David do? He turned to God. “You, God, are my God, I earnestly search for you.” (Psalm 63:1a)

“If you are chased into the wilderness when you are persecuted, do not be afraid as if you were all alone. Instead, rise up early in the morning and sing Psalm 63 to God knowing that he is there.” –Athanasius

Moses’ time in the wilderness prepared him to lead God’s people out of slavery and then found himself standing on holy ground (Exodus 3). Elijah fled to the wilderness fearful for his life only to find rest and renewal through the hand of God (I Kings 19).  Jesus found himself in the wilderness locked in battle with Satan but trusted God until “angels came and took care of Jesus.” (Matthew 4)

“I readily acknowledge that this circumstantial wilderness is a terrible, frightening, and dangerous place; but I also believe that it’s a place of beauty. In the wilderness we’re plunged into an awareness of danger and death; at the very same time we’re plunged, if we let ourselves be, into an awareness of the great mystery of God and the extraordinary preciousness of life.” –Eugene Peterson

Life in the wilderness can push us to our limits. We will all find ourselves living in the wilderness at some point in life. The question becomes, what will you do? The world offers a myriad of solutions yet each leads deeper into its own wilderness. Whether one takes the road of drugs, alcohol, materialism, or sexuality, you will find it is a road that leads to hopelessness, frustration, and lostness.

Moses, David, Elijah, Paul, John, Jesus, and a host of others used their time in their wilderness to grow, listen, learn, recover and prepare. Make the most of your time in your wilderness as you

Wait on God for deliverance – For God alone, my soul waits in silence – Psalm 62

Listen to God for deliverance – After the fire, there was a voice, a soft whisper – I Kings 19:12

Look toward God for deliverance- He hushed the storm to a gentle whisper – Psalm 107:29

Reflect upon God for deliverance – I wait for the LORD, my soul waits – Psalm 130:5

Worship God in your deliverance – Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him – Matt 4:10

Lord, I find myself in a wilderness that I didn’t choose. An overwhelming wilderness. A wilderness that makes me afraid. I know I can’t go it alone so please be my refuge, my strength, my rock. As you walk with me in this wilderness let me find in you the joy, hope, peace, and knowledge that only you can provide. Amen.

God is great,