Jeff writes:
Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord..."
During summer break when I was a Sophomore and Junior in high school, my brother and I would head to the North Georgia mountains for a week at a time to go trout fishing. At that time we were pretty die hard about our fishing expeditions. It basically was us against the trout and only true fishermen were actually in the stream and using artificial lures. Real trout fishermen didn't use waders either. For you non-fishermen, waders are like huge rubber pants that come up to your chest and go over your clothes to keep you dry and in this case warm also. Warm because the stream temperatures in North Georgia run about 65 - 70 degrees. So, as real fishermen we would be out there in tennis shoes and shorts.
In our minds, any novice could sit on the banks and catch fish using corn for bait. After all, this was part of the feed that the trout were raised on in the fish hatcheries. Our goal was to find a place in the wilderness far removed from people. Fishing with artificial lures involved you attempting to entice the trout into thinking that your lure was actually a part of their natural environment through movement and speed or "activity" as Mike liked to call it. The last thing we wanted was some "rookie" spoiling our perfect environment by stumbling and splashing down the creek. We had a neighbor that had a perfectly secluded cabin that was miles from civilization and if that wasn't available we would search to find the most remote, desolate spot possible to camp.
I remember one trip in particular when I was a 17 and we were in the perfect wilderness area. We were so die hard that we would even separate from each other so as not to "spook" the fish. So, I was all alone working my way down the creek. I was navigating down a small waterfall area that had sheer walls about 6 feet high on both sides and a pool at the bottom that was about 7 feet deep. Then it happened, I slipped and fell. I remember what proceeded to come out of my mouth.... "Momma!!!" Now why would a 6 foot, 185 lb athletic football player yell out for his momma? Because that was safety to him, that was the one he could trust in to help and save him.
So, why are we in Kansas City? I believe that one reason we are here is that this is our wilderness. Cold, snowy, windy, and isolated from the world that we love. This is a time to be removed from the things in our lives that might become a distraction from fully pursuing God at this time.
Deut 8:2-3, 16 the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what is in your heart.... So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger and fed you manna which you did not know... that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone: but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.... who fed you in the wilderness with manna... that he might humble you and... test you, to do good in the end.
Just as God placed Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and Jesus in the wilderness for for a time of testing and teaching, He has placed our family in the wilderness to cause us to fully depend on Him. Placing us in the wilderness to remove distractions that take our gaze off Him. God is jealous in His desire for us. He was wanting to remove those familiar props that we knowingly and unknowingly lean on instead of Him. He desires for us to find our identity solely in Him rather than our job, our church, our friends, dance, or even our family. Our existence and identity are sustained and upheld by what God says about us, not anyone else. He wants to be our sole provider and sole means of identification.
He desires all of our first cries to be Abba instead of Momma or IRA or bank account or XYZ Company. The Father is releasing His grace for us to walk through our wilderness and is revealing His heart for us. He asks us to just rest our heads on His chest and to remember that He is Faithful and True. This is the one thing of greatest importance, right?During summer break when I was a Sophomore and Junior in high school, my brother and I would head to the North Georgia mountains for a week at a time to go trout fishing. At that time we were pretty die hard about our fishing expeditions. It basically was us against the trout and only true fishermen were actually in the stream and using artificial lures. Real trout fishermen didn't use waders either. For you non-fishermen, waders are like huge rubber pants that come up to your chest and go over your clothes to keep you dry and in this case warm also. Warm because the stream temperatures in North Georgia run about 65 - 70 degrees. So, as real fishermen we would be out there in tennis shoes and shorts.
In our minds, any novice could sit on the banks and catch fish using corn for bait. After all, this was part of the feed that the trout were raised on in the fish hatcheries. Our goal was to find a place in the wilderness far removed from people. Fishing with artificial lures involved you attempting to entice the trout into thinking that your lure was actually a part of their natural environment through movement and speed or "activity" as Mike liked to call it. The last thing we wanted was some "rookie" spoiling our perfect environment by stumbling and splashing down the creek. We had a neighbor that had a perfectly secluded cabin that was miles from civilization and if that wasn't available we would search to find the most remote, desolate spot possible to camp.
I remember one trip in particular when I was a 17 and we were in the perfect wilderness area. We were so die hard that we would even separate from each other so as not to "spook" the fish. So, I was all alone working my way down the creek. I was navigating down a small waterfall area that had sheer walls about 6 feet high on both sides and a pool at the bottom that was about 7 feet deep. Then it happened, I slipped and fell. I remember what proceeded to come out of my mouth.... "Momma!!!" Now why would a 6 foot, 185 lb athletic football player yell out for his momma? Because that was safety to him, that was the one he could trust in to help and save him.
So, why are we in Kansas City? I believe that one reason we are here is that this is our wilderness. Cold, snowy, windy, and isolated from the world that we love. This is a time to be removed from the things in our lives that might become a distraction from fully pursuing God at this time.
Deut 8:2-3, 16 the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what is in your heart.... So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger and fed you manna which you did not know... that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone: but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.... who fed you in the wilderness with manna... that he might humble you and... test you, to do good in the end.
Just as God placed Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and Jesus in the wilderness for for a time of testing and teaching, He has placed our family in the wilderness to cause us to fully depend on Him. Placing us in the wilderness to remove distractions that take our gaze off Him. God is jealous in His desire for us. He was wanting to remove those familiar props that we knowingly and unknowingly lean on instead of Him. He desires for us to find our identity solely in Him rather than our job, our church, our friends, dance, or even our family. Our existence and identity are sustained and upheld by what God says about us, not anyone else. He wants to be our sole provider and sole means of identification.
Psalm 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to seek Him in His temple.
Blessings,
Jeff
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