ናይ መንፈስ ቅዱስ ኣገልግሎት

 Wilderness

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” Mark 1: 12-13 

Times of wilderness are part of our lives. As they are trying and difficult complaining and growing to be negative is not certainly the answer to such experience of wilderness in one’s life. While that is the case the point is the things we need to do in order to overcome and endure such realities of wilderness.

Some years ago a preacher found himself need to fly with his oldest daughter, at that time just four years old, had been visiting her aunt in a nearby city and was quite anxious to fly back to her home with her father. Flying back they encountered a severe thunder storm over mid-town. The pilot announced that he was going to take the plane to a higher altitude in order that the plane might fly above the storm. Soon they faced the black clouds and darting lightening in the clouds beneath. Above them the sun was shining in all its glory, though quite hidden from the people in the city below them. Soon they beheld a wondrous sight of glorious rainbow stretching from horizon to horizon. It certainly was a spectacle to take a look at! The little girl was thrilled with what she saw. Her enthusiasm couldn’t be restrained any longer as she cried: “Daddy, daddy, look, it’s a rainbow, and we’re seeing it from the same side that God sees it from!” Everyone in that crowded airliner was struck with the realization that out of the mouth of a babe had come forth wisdom. How very true! To the people below all they could vision was storm clouds…but they were flying above the clouds… in the glory of the sunshine and in perfect position to see the rainbow that God had put in the sky. And, as the little girl had exclaimed, they were seeing it from the same side that God sees it from.

So it is in life. When the storm clouds come, try to rise above them by faith and reach for the sunshine of God’s grace. When you do, it will not be long before you see a rainbow from the same side that God sees it from. Then seeing the rainbow from God’s Side would be an effective strategy to endure and overcome a wilderness experience in one’s life.

This leads us towards to a close look of wilderness times that is a part of our lives as well. They are those times when we feel that we are being tested to our limits. Our faith journey may feel desolate, lonely, trying, difficult…even agonizing. But these “wilderness times” will be much more easily overcome and endured when we realize that they are times for learning. One of those email lists that made the rounds a few years ago... listed significant things that children have learned about life. Here are just a few of them:

“You can’t trust dogs to watch your food for you.”
“Don’t sneeze when somebody is cutting your hair.”
“You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.”
“When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.”
“No matter how hard you try you cannot baptize a cat.”
These are the kinds of accelerated learning experiences we might call: “learning the hard way.” And so it is with the hard time in the wilderness. Jesus’ time in the wilderness came just before He began His public ministry. It was a time of sorting out what mattered most and to get clear about God’s will for His life. A key is that Jesus did not stay in the wilderness forever.

Still the tempter may come as we sometimes make other things God like. May be at those times we put our emphasis into making money, having power, being famous. Now those things in and of themselves are not wrong, but they are temptations when they lead us away from God. There is a story that speaks us about this point well:

Many years ago a king had one beautiful daughter. She had many offers of marriage, but she couldn’t make up her mind. A romantic girl, she wanted a man who would love her more than he loved anything else.  Finally, she devised a way to test the love of her suitors. An announcement was made and sent throughout the kingdom that on a certain day, there would be a race. The winner of the race would marry the princess. The race was open to every man in the kingdom, regardless of his position. All that was required was that the man had to profess to love the princess more than he loved anything else. On the chosen day, men rich and poor gathered for the race. Each professed wholehearted love for the princess. They gathered at the starting line, prepared to run the course of many miles that had been marked for the race. Each man was told that the princess waited at the finish line. Whoever reached her first could take her as his bride.  Just before the race was to begin, an announcement was made. The king, they were reminded, was a wealthy man with treasures gathered from all over the world. Not wanting any man to run in vain, it was announced, the king had liberally scattered some of his finest treasures along the course. Each runner was welcome to take as many as he liked. The race was begun. Almost immediately, the runners began to come across great gems and bags of gold. There were necklaces and pendants and jewel encrusted cups and swords and knives. One by one, the runners, princes and paupers alike, turned aside to fill their pockets and carry off what treasures they could. Blinded by the immediate promise of wealth, they forgot the princess and all their professions of love. All except one. He pressed on, ignoring what to him were trinkets when compared to incomparable beauty of the princess and the prospect of gaining her hand in marriage, finally crossing the finish line. That is the way temptation works. It places things in our path meant to blind our eyes to the kind of life God wants us to live.

But still life in wilderness could be so difficult and tempting. At such times there are periods of silence when we don’t feel God’s presence. There is a story about a gentle man’s wife told her husband one day, “You never tell me that you love me. Why don’t you? Why are you not like other men to let me know that you love me?” He said, “My dear, I told you once that I loved you when we got married. If it ever changes I will tell you.” It is the same when God spoke at Jesus’ baptism; He had to rely on that Word, “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” He was not hearing repeated confirmations of His Father’s love and concern while out there in the wilderness. God had spoken and He had to believe that Word. In the wilderness there was not the constant reassurance of God’s love. We, too, need to believe God’s Word to us because sometimes there are periods of silence when we don’t feel God’s presence and we don’t hear His Voice reassuring us of his love and concern. We need to hold fast to His promises and scriptures and not allow Satan to tempt us into believing that God has abandoned us or that He does not love us. We need to know what is in Scripture so that it is second nature to us and there when we need it. When God gives you a promise at least once, hang on to that promise. You don’t need to be reassured all of the time. Still the tempter may come when you are weak. Not when you have just really felt the affirmation of God and gotten on fire for ministry, but after you have been in the wilderness for forty days. After you have spent forty days in the wilderness of marital problems . . . here comes Satan. After you have spent forty days in the wilderness of financial problems … here comes Satan. After you have spent forty days in the wilderness of grief . . . here comes Satan saying, “are you really a child of God?” Satan is usually saying, “Ignore your vow, your fidelity, your faith or your morals, because you can turn this situation around on your own. These rocks can be bread. Jesus is not about to end his fast unless it is completed, nor is he willing to use his powers for himself. Here the challenge comes in satan’s questioning “are you really a child of God?” In the temptation of Jesus central to it is that Jesus faces is the repeated statement of Satan, “if you are the Son of God.” Do we always remember that we are a child of the King? As we face temptation in life, we must also remember that we are children of the King.  Remembering??? But why remembering is so important? The following stories would explain the reason. The first is a story told about a young preacher visiting with an old man who had an old hound dog. The preacher said, “that sure is a nice dog, what is his name?” The old farmer hemmed and hawed and said, “what is that flower with a long stem with thorns and red petals?” The preacher replied, “a rose.” The old farmer said, “that is right.” Looking over to his wife, the farmer said, “Rose, what do we call that old dog?”

The second story is a humorous one that happened at church one morning as the children Liturgy minister was about to start her 4-year-olds’ session when a little boy showed up without any identification. The minister managed to get his first name, but couldn’t find out his last name. "Brian, what’s your daddy’s name?" she asked. "Daddy," he replied. She tried again, "Brian, what’s your mommy’s name?" "Mommy," he answered. Suddenly she realized exactly how she could get the answer she needed. "Brian, what does your daddy call your mommy?" His face lit up. With a grin and a deep voice, he replied, "Hey, Babe."you always remember that you are a child of the King? We need to remember who we are as the Tempter comes. Don’t forget who you are.