Part SEVEN of a seven part series on a word study of "Midbar"
Midbar: a desert, wasteland, barren wilderness, desolate land that supports very little life. Also used to described an open country suitable for grazing and as a mouth/instrument of speech.
*Our response in the wilderness.
Wowza. Kudos to all ya’ll who are still with me. Apparently I had a lot to say…
So now, what do we do with all of this? Glad you asked.
Wilderness seasons are HARD. I’m no stranger to time within the wilderness. The events which have brought them about - death of a loved one, death of a child, grief, trials, heartbreak, fear, among other things - are not something I have been thankful for. If you would have asked me at the time, I would have been saying other (more colorful) words. I still don’t have understanding of the full picture within the wilderness seasons of my lifetime. But, at some point, we are faced with a CHOICE. In the midst of a wilderness season, we can either choose to trust and follow God or we don’t. There’s no “lukewarm” or “halfway”. We cannot worship the golden calf (Exodus reference) while fully committing our lives to following God at the same time. It’s madness. We must choose a path.
We could choose to turn against Him in the wilderness. I know many people who have chosen this pathway, and I grieve for them. Psalm 106:24-27 tells us that those who don’t have faith in His promise and don’t obey Him will fall in the wilderness. It is so devastating, because that is not what our good God wants for us.
I pray that, in every circumstance, you (and I) choose to trust and love God through it all. I picked up a beautiful habit over the past 10 years or so, where I have stacks of journals sitting underneath my nightstand. Those journals are filled with great joys and deep pain. When looking back at the tear-splotched pages, I read the words I wrote during my wilderness seasons where I had no understanding:
*"My God, the enemy is everywhere. They are all around me, and they are whispering in my ear. They are loud."
*"I can't keep going this way. The world is a mess. I am a mess. I can't fix this. You can, but I can't. My God, MOVE."
*"God, I'm desperate. I want so badly to see your hands in this season."
*"My soul can't take any more pain"
But God.
He works in such beautiful ways, and the tear-splotched pages are often followed by an abundance of God’s faithfulness and answered prayers:
*"God, you saw me. You saw the messy state of my heart. You saw that I was drowning. You heard my cries and pulled me up out of the deep water. You untied the anchor from my neck and brought me to life. You showed me your son."
*"My God, thank you for teaching me. Thank you for answering the prayer I wrote literally two pages ago."
*"You take your hand and put one thing back into place where you know it is best suited. And then another, and so on. You put the pieces into place - some back where they were, some elsewhere, and you even plant new seeds. And pretty soon my deadened, cracked, not taken care of slab of dirt is made into a functioning garden. It is producing fruit, it is blooming, it aligns better with you. It is better than I ever could have imagined it to be."
*Regardless of the disappointment and the loss, you stuck with me when my selfish desires took over. You wiped my tears. You are continuing to pursue me. How could I ever thank you?"
*"My God, I find comfort in you and your presence. Even if I do not know what the heck is going on, I know you are here, surrounding me and living within me, and that's enough for now."
*God, thank you for bringing me back."
I may struggle to be thankful for the trials themselves, but I am beyond thankful for the growth that has occurred through these trials because I have been able to see that God works in the wilderness, and His work often results in the most beautiful things.
*Psalm 107:4-9 tells us of people who were not able to find any place to live within the desert waste, without food or water, and they cried to the Lord in their distress. He delivered them and led them to safety, satisfying their souls abundantly and filling them with good things.
*Isaiah 32 describes a year where the harvest will not come as it usually does, but instead the soil will grow thorns and briars and the town will be deserted. However, verses 15-17 indicate that just because it is a wilderness now, does not mean that it will continue to be a wilderness. The Spirit will be poured out and the wilderness will become a fruitful field, turning into a forest where justice, righteousness, peace, quietness, and trust reside.
*Isaiah 35:1-2 describes a time when the wilderness and dry land will rejoice and blossom abundantly, rejoicing with joy an singing and seeing the glory and majesty of our God as the eyes of the blind will be opened, the deaf will see, the mute will sing and the lame will leap. There will someday be a spring of water in the wilderness and a highway that is the “way of righteousness” where the redeemed will walk.
*Even Jesus Himself was tempted within the wilderness (Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4), however Jesus remained deeply rooted in scripture and was able to resist the temptation of the devil himself.
With all of that being said, I have learned very recently that the gospel message shines ever brighter within the wilderness seasons. In a season of loss of a loved one, loss of a child, grief, trials, heartbreak, fear, among other things, God does not leave us. Even if we cannot seem to understand why things are happening the way that they are or how God's hand fits into it all, we can be assured that we are not alone within this season. We can cling to the son, Jesus. In the midst of a loss, we can cling to Jesus and His pursuit of us that led to our salvation. In the midst of a heartbreak, we can cling to Jesus, the God of comfort, and know that His love will never end. In the midst of grief, we can cling to Jesus and know that He wipes our tears and carries us through this season when we cannot walk it ourselves. In the midst of fear, we can stand firm in the promise that Christ has defeated the ultimate enemy, therefore we have nothing to fear when we are with Him. All of this is made possible through the message of the gospel, where Christ was sent by the Father and lived a perfect and sinless life here on earth, only to die a death He didn't deserve on the cross. Three days later, He walked out of the tomb, alive and in victory, to declare that the ultimate enemy has been defeated. We are no longer slaves to sin and death, but we are made ALIVE through Him and able to walk in victory. All He asks for is faith.
I’ll leave you with the words of David in Psalm 63, which was actually written within the wilderness of Judah:
Psalm 63
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
My soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
As in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
They shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by Him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Our good God is present and pursuing us within the wilderness. He provides for our every single need so we lack nothing, and He is abundant in patience as we continue to navigate through the wilderness seasons. He has a purpose for every single season of our life, including the wilderness seasons. Therefore, I will forever praise you, my God.
***
Scripture References:
Psalm 106:24-27
Then they despised the pleasant land,
having no faith in his promise.
They murmured in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
scattering them among the lands.
Psalm 107:4-9
Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
Isaiah 32:15-17
Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.
Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
Isaiah 35:1-2
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
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