Wanderings in the Wilderness

Life is frustratingly unfair. Jobs are lost, the body grows ill, good people turn out to be evil, friends fail, enemies win, ideals disappoint, and faith grows weak. It is so discouraging to see people who never have a difficulty and never suffer. Always on the mountaintop, they leave many feeling inadequate wondering, "What's wrong with me?" The storms of life threaten to overwhelm us with a hurricane's relentless fury. If you have ever lost your zeal to serve, ever felt so tired you wanted to quit, ever doubted why you should keep trying, then you know the paralyzing aftermath of life's storms that conceal the joy for which God created you. You know the humdrum existence to which this world has succumbed. It seems like you are just drifting along in an unfamiliar wilderness. Wandering is tolerable; it requires minimal effort and it's relatively comfortable. You offend no one and you keep your distance. You are lost but you are moving, so why add anything more to your plate? Busy and preoccupied, you go through the motions day after day after exhausting day. Jesus changes all that. He is faithful, walking where you have walked. He cries your tears. He understands your regret. He smiles at every effort and heals your wounds, rebuking the raging storms of life. He has called to you as you hid in the bushes, ashamed of your nakedness. He searches for you when you were lost, alone, and shivering in the dark. He rescues you from those in the world who would devour you. He can restore your zeal and your desire to serve. In these accounts, you will experience the joy, the fear, the delight, and especially the wonder of walking with Jesus on your journey back to Paradise.