Never Just A Wilderness

 

The LORD spoke to Moses

in the wilderness of Sinai....

            Numbers 1.1

What in the world

           am I doing here

in this unfamiliar, unknown 

and uncomfortable place?

God speaks to us too

in the most unexpected places

     and unlikely situations,

even in those barren

  wildernesses of our lives.

Why here?  

Why in this forsaken place?

Perhaps because 

we could not -- or would not--

   listen or respond to Him

   any other way.

God does not just say

         Look to Me,

but Look Me in the eye.

Sometimes it takes a wilderness

  where we have no one but Him

         for us to listen.

"But there's nothing here, O God!"

            I am.

It's never just a wilderness. 

O LORD,

Thank You for leading us

   even into the desert

   or the deserted places

that we may listen to You.

Thank You for speaking to us

       right there,

revealing not just Your majesty

     and wonders in this place,

        but revealing Yourself.

Help us to be still

     and know that You are God.

 

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Not Running Ahead

And they were on the road,

going up to Jerusalem,

and Jesus was walking

          ahead of them.

                   Mark 10. 32

Whatever path we are on,

  may we follow God on it,

even if we do not quite know

  where this road is leading.

Because He knows.

God has prepared us for it.

Just don't get ahead of Him.

Jesus may be directing us

   to places or situations

   or people we do not know,

or to pay attention to those

       right where we are.

We do not just pass through.

God has many divine appointments

  and sacred encounters

                    along the way.

He may be protecting us

 in some way that doesn't

       seem to make sense.

God does not just show up

          but shows us.

We are not alone on this road.

He guides us, feeds us,

and gives us His strength

             for the journey,

all the way through.

Are we there yet?

         Just follow Me.

O LORD,

We may feel like 

  we are just wandering,

but You know

 exactly what You are doing

and where You are taking us.

Grant to us Your wisdom

and stir up in us

   the willingness to follow You.

Help us to fulfill Your purposes

      wherever You guide us.

And to not miss Your beauty

           along the way.

Take our hand

           and guide us.

Help us to not run ahead of You.

 

Not Just A Nice Person

 

Consecrate yourselves, therefore,

and be holy,

for I am the LORD your God.

Keep My statutes

           and do them;

I am the LORD

   who sanctifies you.

        Leviticus 20. 7-8

God says in no uncertain terms,

          Be Mine.

That people will not only see us

    as different or just nice,

           but that we are Yours.

Because the LORD is our God,

we have the freedom to live differently

             in this broken world.

May we set our minds,

set our hearts,

set ourselves apart to love God,

  love others,

and take another path through.

The sacred is instituted, 

not just in listening to what

  God says in His Word,

not just agreeing with Him,

                  but by doing,

putting God's love into action

in our work and relationships

      and daily choices.

O LORD,

May we be known as Yours.

May we be marked by

     Your anointing

  and Your appointing.

Help us and guide us

  in setting ourselves apart

in whatever we do today

in Your name,

for Your Kingdom,

  and for Your glory.

Others are not just watching us,

but desperately want to know 

      You are real

and that You transform lives.

That's Why

....for I am the LORD your God.

          Leviticus 19. 3

The LORD spelled out directions

in how to treat, love,

and relate to other people

--family, friends, neighbors,

poor and rich, strangers,

         and even our foes.

Because from the 

   very beginning of time,

He knew we needed

           a little help there.

    And we all still do.

It's not just friendly advice.

Jesus calls love your neighbor

  the second great commandment.

Why should we take heed?

   Because God says so

and He knows what happens

             when we do,

      and when we don't. 

I am the LORD your God

  is repeated eight times

  in the first eighteen verses

          of just this chapter.

I am the LORD.

           That's why.

O LORD,

You are not just the LORD,

  but You are our God.

And our relationship with You

  infiltrates not just

           how we behave,

        but how we love,

   and how we relate to others.

May others see Your love in us.

And may we realize that 

   You love others through us

    and make Yourself known.

You have strategically placed us

   right here today for that purpose.

Find us faithful, dear Jesus.

 

Not About To Abandon Us Now

 

"And do you not remember?

When I broke the fives loaves

   for the five thousand,

how many baskets 

  full of broken pieces

            did you take up?"

They said to Him,

            "Twelve."

           Mark 8. 18-19

Do we recall all those times

   when God did not just show up,

   but He beat us here,

       the table already set?

   Over and over again.

Even among His disciples,

Jesus had to point out 

they took up 

   twelve baskets of leftovers,

   ironically one for each of them.

God's faithfulness is so immense

  we can't even count that high.

God gives each of us

     a chronicle of His faithfulness

                        in indelible ink.

He is not about 

      to abandon us now.

Do not fear.  I am with you.

Even in the hard stuff.

O LORD,

You have taken care of us

        in the past.

You are caring for us now.

You carry us into what is next.

Help us to know

    You've also got us

         in this particular situation,

not with just barely enough,

  but twelve baskets full.

Finding Something More In The Midst Of It

 

Blessed is the one

   who considers the poor!

            Psalm 41. 1

The needy, the weak,

    the helpless, the lean,

appear in many dimensions,

even among those 

  we would never suspect.

The poor are not restricted 

to physical and financial lack,

but perhaps even more,

  to find oneself relationally weak.

That is where, when and how

  we can do something

        to strengthen another.

Not just to pay attention 

    to those around us,

    but attend to them

             (same root word).

Call and response.

O LORD,

Open our eyes and our hearts

   not just to need,

but how we can follow You into it.

Reveal our way through

   that we may solve, resolve,

   and encourage others

           out of the miry bog

           or pothole of despair.

You multiply kindness across the board

to aid the helpless and hopeless

   in their day of trouble.

And we find Your blessing there.

   

Hey, It's Me!

 

But immediately,

He spoke to them and said,

"Take heart.  It is I.

  Do not be afraid."

And He got into 

        the boat with them,

and the wind ceased.

            Mark 6. 50-51

For the 40 days of Lent this year,

I am giving up fear and anxiety.

And while it seems at first

   to invite even more worries,

God is leading me through,

  how to respond differently

  when they rush through the door

and take up every chair in my heart.

When we take Jesus at His word,

    "Hey, I'm right here.

     Do not be afraid,"

the wind ceases

  and He brings His peace to it.

O LORD,

We are caught in storms

  and struggles

  and what in the world

            is going on?

And You assure us,

   it is You working 

    something mighty here

of which we are unaware.

Help us to trust You in it

   and not be afraid of it.

Because fear distracts us,

and we miss out

     on Your wonders here.