All in Wilderness
We look out across the wilderness and think to ourselves that this is a desolate place of danger, where people face hard challenges, and meet death face to face, but for the believer this is not the case. The wilderness is a place that only the hand of God has groomed; an untamed place that man has not cultivated, or brought under his control. Like Jacob, this is where we meet God in solitude, to be nourished by Him, and to whisper with Him in prayer.
Sometimes our spirit leads us into a vulnerable place; one in which we find ourselves alone, and being tempted, or tested. We often experience this when God is teaching us, or preparing us for something new; perhaps a calling. It can happen in those times when we are about to be lead into a new ministry... or God is preparing us to be stretched in some way. Have you ever found yourself experiencing a spiritual wilderness? Are you there now, and don’t really know why?
Do you stand at the foot of the hill and listen to Jesus teach? Do you watch Him enter Jerusalem and celebrate the fact that you know Him? Are you in the upper room and marvel at His foot washing and the words surrounding the bread and the wine? Well all of these things are amazing and wonderful but in each case you are a bystander, yet when you are filled with the Holy Spirit then suddenly the life of Jesus moves from before your eyes to a place deep within you. You cease being a watcher, a marginally practicing Christian, and become one with Christ.