The Wilderness Beckons Us [A Lenten Devotional]

In his book In the Name of Jesus, Henri Nouwen defines spiritual maturity as the “ability and willingness to be led where you would rather not go". Barring times of recreation and solitude, the wilderness tends to be a place where most of us would rather not go willingly.  This dry and barren place is generally stripped of many of the comforts and conveniences of home. Its harsh conditions and vast emptiness often carries with it this idea that the wilderness is a place of difficulty, disorientation, and even death. 

According to the Scriptures however, the wilderness was always a place of deep formation for the Israelites. It was in the wilderness that Israel learned so much about God, the ways of God, and even themselves.  It was here where God taught them a new way of life.  It was also the place where God prepared them for the fulfillment of His promise - in the season ahead.  It turns out that the wilderness is not as barren as it's made out to be.


We have to understand that the wilderness is not just a physical place, though. It is also a metaphor for the challenging seasons in our lives where we might feel spiritually dry, lost, and empty.  Throughout our journey of following Jesus, we may often find ourselves in such several “wilderness” seasons - some that we choose to enter into voluntarily and some that we are led into involuntarily.  The season of Lent is a perfect example of the voluntary option.  Designed to imitate the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, Lent includes the 40 days (minus Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and Easter.  In choosing to fast through the season of Lent, we voluntarily choose to embrace discomfort, inconvenience, and weakness - trusting that on the other side, new life will be found there.  What an amazing way to set the stage for our entry into Passion Week - which culminates with Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. 

So as we move through this Lenten season, let us respond to Jesus’ invitation to go into the wilderness. May we discover that the grace of God abounds all the more in places (and seasons) such as these. And may we experience yet again that the wilderness is not only a place of death but a place where new life begins.

As we close, we’d like to share with you a poem entitled "A Wilderness Beckons Us" - written by Steve Garnaas Holmes:
 

A wilderness beckons us;
a desert, a barren place,
yet a place of blessing and discovery.
Jesus, steady companion,
accompany us as we enter
the hurtful places,
the frightening places,
the dangerous places deep within us.
Jesus, our wild and well-traveled guide,
lead us into this emptiness,
where all will fall away,
and we will have nothing but you.
Walk with us through the valley
of the shadow of death,
where we shall be raised
and drink of deep springs.
Amen.