Wilderness

Do you ever feel like you are in the middle of the wilderness?

Maybe you have been wandering spiritually and you feel distant from the Lord, unable to find your way back.

Maybe you have been outright rebellious and sinful, and you are suffering the consequences.

Maybe you have been walking steadily with the Lord, but suddenly you find yourself parched, wondering why you cannot seem to be refreshed.

Maybe I am the only one who has ever felt this way, but I can guarantee, I have been there. Something from my morning Scripture reading encouraged me yesterday, though. Imagine that!

Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. Hosea 2:14

If you know anything about Hosea, you know it is not a happy book. God instructs Hosea the prophet to marry a “promiscuous woman.” From the beginning Hosea knows that his wife Gomer will not be faithful to him. The purpose of their marriage is to illustrate the unfaithfulness of God's people Israel versus the faithfulness of God.

The first verses of chapter two reveal all the things the unfaithful wife chases after. She believes those things are granted to her by her lovers, but the truth is that they all came from God. So, He removes them from her. He strips her down to nothing and then draws her into the wilderness. At that point, He reminds her of His love. He reminds her that He is the One who has provided everything. He gets her to the point where she has nothing but Him, and He shows her that He is all she needs.

Do you see where this is going?

Sometimes we are like Gomer or unfaithful Israel. We sin. We rebel. We convince ourselves that this world is the source for all of the good things we have and we chase after the world to maintain our good things. Then we chase after the world for more good things because, in truth, we can never be satisfied. We must always have more.

Other times when we feel as if we are following God, but He is ready to show us just how much of this world we still cling to. Although this thought is not the message of Hosea specifically, it can be supported by other portions of Scripture.

In either situation, He leads us into the wilderness. He hungers to get us to the point where we realize that we need nothing more than Him! We do not need the things of this world that have led us into sin. We do not need the things we have put before Him, whether we realize we have done so or not. He must draw us into a place where we lack the distraction of the things of this world before He can show us that we have no need of them.

Either way, the wilderness proves itself to be the exact opposite of what it appears. It feels barren and lonely. It feels like a waste land where nothing can survive, much less thrive. It feels more distant from the Giver of life than anywhere else. Yet it is none of those things. Instead, in the wilderness we find life. We find the fullness of everything we need. We find eternal riches and nourishment like no other. We discover the depths of what God has to offer.

Are you in the wilderness right now? Know God is there. Know He has brought you there. And know it is an amazing place to be.