Wilderness

Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.NLT

Wilderness….Just that word give me a shiver. I don’t like being  lost and the word just says cold and lost to me. It conjures up images of rainy windy days with nowhere to rest.
But in scripture significant things happen in the wilderness…”Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness”(Numbers 1:1) Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and often withdrew there to pray(Mark 1:12), John the Baptist spoke to and baptized many in the wilderness and chose to live there(John 1:23).
The word actually means a wild and uncultivated region, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a desolate tract of wasteland, a bewildering mass.
What part of that sounds fun? And yet God spoke to His people and met with them in this place of desolation and bewilderment. More intriguing yet is that Jesus chose to meet with His Father in such places.
So maybe instead of dreading these places of wilderness that seem to appear whether I want them to or not, I need to be running to them to meet with God. A wonderful God, who has not abandoned me to the wilderness, but leads me there regularly, It is there in that place that I can expect Him to meet and speak to me.  A place where there is nothing but Him waiting to meet me there.

Count it all Joy?

James 1:2-5  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. NIV

James 1:2-4 Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. NLT

I have prayed about this text all week and looked at it from every angle and I have to tell you that over the years as a leader this has to be one of the places where the developing of my faith takes its toll but I also see it is what separates ‘the men from the boys’ . It is the deciding factor and, if you will, the very essence of what makes you a leader and earns you a right to be followed. It is hard to follow someone who is miserable and can’t find the path of victory in God for themselves!

How do you handle many kinds of trials? What is your response? That is what makes people want to follow you, the faith and the perseverance they see when you go through many difficult times.

You will hear phrases like ‘wow – I thought I had it bad until I saw what they went through!’ or hopefully, ‘you have been an inspiration to me watching you go through this!’

It is in those times when we can’t control the circumstances when we can feel like giving up and yet we find the joy and victory to keep going on, that our life becomes worth following.

Anyone can fall apart and forget their faith in a trial, I have seen that many times. Or end up ‘wearing the trial’ so that everyone around them feels sorry for them. Self pity is not a part of this text.

It is letting us know that we need to find ‘pure joy’ which has to be a gift of God’s grace, received in faith in His presence, as you realize that our wonderful Father and loving God has allowed this to happen in your life out of His intense love for you. The preparation of being transformed by this trial into a mature believer and the leader He has destined you to be. As you persevere He gives you the mercy and grace to help in times of need. (Hebrews 4:16) It is in receiving this Grace and Mercy that you truly begin to walk in faith, and begin to hope in the things not seen.

Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  NIV

This is an excerpt from a journal of mine as I paraphrased this text.

“This lets me know that I should rejoice when I go through a trial because it is teaching me and testing me so that I can mature by staying in Christ no matter how hard the trials are. Basically, I won’t mature if I run every time I go through a trial, so it is a time to rejoice that I am being tested and when I pass – I am growing up! The response I need to have to trials is to rejoice because it is working something good in me.”

Write down what God is saying to you regarding this and send it back I would love to hear it.

Remember God excels in turning misery into ministry…He often takes our worst trials and uses them to speak into the lives of others.

Leaders blog – a look at James

The purpose of this blog is to look at the qualities and challenges of a leader and hopefully grow as women who desire to serve God in ministry.  We are starting in the book of James because I really feel this is a great no nonsense book that really goes to the heart of leaders. I will write my thoughts on the passage and hopefully we will interact on what the Lord is showing us as we grow and serve Him.

1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:  Greetings. NIV

The book of James starts with the address from a servant to those who by persecution have been scattered among many nations. I truly see myself first     as a servant of our Lord. It is best to remember that is what we are – servants of our Lord. His friend – yes – but to live as Jesus lived and to truly say “I am doing what I hear my Father telling me to do”, needs to be our goal.  In Ephesians it says to find out what pleases God, which is what Jesus modeled for us, as He became a servant of the Father. Ephesians 5:8-10 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord.NIV

In His most difficult hours Jesus reveals for us that a walk of obedience with God requires that we do what He wants us to do even when it will cost us everything and is not what we would like to do. Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” To truly ‘lay down’ our life for Him is a hard walk and not necessarily fun, but definitely the most fulfilling. For without the willingness to do what the Father asked Him to do, there would not have been the glory of the resurrection.

So whatever the cost we press on to the obedience of serving God with our whole lives and being willing to lay down our will and desires to serve Him. The rewards of obedience are many but for me the greatest is a greater intimacy with Jesus…

Matt 12:49-50  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” NIV

We get elevated from a servant to family!

Ephesians 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. NIV