When I was on internship in Los Angeles, my supervising pastor shared with him his nine year experience in the central region of the San Joaquin Valley of California as his “wilderness experience.”  He stated that before he got there, he was sure he would changed the world of Lutheranism in the San Joaquin Valley.  Less than a year later, he learned differently. 

He had to do everything he could to keep his passion for ministry and his faith in himself as he struggled to do ministry with a group of people he never understood. 

It was in the nine years of his time in the Valley that he learned about what it meant to be in the “wilderness.”  He had to rely on something greater than himself in order to do the Lord’s Work. 

In the same, Jesus had experienced that same trial.  For forty days, with no food or shelter, Jesus had to rely on something larger than himself, something greater his being to help him. 

We are asked by God all the time to rely on Him, who is greater than ourselves and yet, we often don’t.  Therefore, we allow ourselves to fail and struggle all the while looking for peace and happiness.  In other words, we become restless and out of focus.  Our spiritual self become distracted by other forces and eventually, our very being becomes something entirely different than what our Lord would like us to be. 

St. Augustine eloquently wrote once that, “The heart is restless, until it finds it rest in thee.”  I have found those words so comforting that when I feel I am upset, distracted or needing focus, I speak the words of St. Augustine over and over to remind where I truly belong. 

I have learned that our “wilderness experiences” often can be reduced to nothing when we focus on God, when we learn to “rest in thee.”  God is always beckoning us to Him but we often look for other avenues.  When we turn from Him, our soul becomes restless and our lives become a wilderness experience. 

May your life be a life fully focused on the Will of God and may your life be few of wilderness experiences.

Prayer: Almighty Lord, you awe our lives with beauty and grandeur as well as your grace and mercy.  Help us to be more intimate with your Creation and allow us to find our wilderness experience so that our hearts may learn to rest in you. Amen.