Growing in the Wilderness

At church this morning, Dr. Koole was talking about John the Baptist and the person that he was. The Bible goes from him being a baby to him being an adult with hardly any information given. Luke 1:80 "describes" his growing up: "And the child continued to grow, and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel."

Dr. Koole went on to discuss what it means to become strong in the spirit and how most often it happens when we live in the "deserts"/wilderness (i.e. trials/difficulties). I was struck by how directly these words and situations apply to my life today; how when I hear these words I can look back and see how they have become evident over the last year.

1. Growing in patience: I must wait for God's timing, I am probably not as ready as I think I am and I must wait and trust God's timing and planning of life.
2. Growing in dependence: God uses these trials, these difficult times in my life, to increase my dependence on Him and Him alone.
3. Growing in contentment: God wants me to be content with what I have NOW! He does not want me longing for what once was or what maybe, rather He wants me to be satisfied with what He has given me today.
4. Growing in priorities/purpose: God wants me to be seeking out what HIS purpose and priorities are for me.
5. Growing in strength: God uses these seasons in my life to make me a stronger person!
6. Growing in courage: God allows our courage to grow as we go through the battles of life.
7. Growing in maturity.
8. Growing in preparation: God is using this time, this moment in my life to prepare me for something that will happen in the future.
9. Growing in relationship: I need to turn to God FIRST, not as a second option.

I know that in the past year I have grown in patience, dependence, contentment, priorities, strength, courage, maturity, preparation, and relationship. I also know that I have a LONG way to go. I am so thankful that God is walking with me through this wilderness. I do often wonder when it will end and what that will look like, but today, I am filled with joy at all God is doing in me during this time!

Something to Think About....

Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!'

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India , Africa and Korea . Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,'and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one nation under God.'

'If we ever forget that we're one nation under GOD, then we will be a nation gone under.'
- Ronald Reagan