Insights from the Wilderness
For the past week I’ve been on a staycation of sorts. Basically, I’ve been dog/house sitting away from home and it’s been pretty good. During said staycation I’ve had quite a bit of time to myself. The introvert in me loves it although I’ve discovered that I’m an ambivert. But that’s beside the point. In my quiet time I had a lot of time to think to which I was met with some thoughts that I’d like to share with you.
I’ll start with a statement that I know is obvious to all of us: LIFE HAPPENS. Whether you’re on a staycation, vacation, or in Timbuktu life happens and that was the case for me this week. I was met with some trying events that had me feeling some type of way. The uncertainty of it all left me wondering if things would look up from here—or there, in that moment lol. I won’t go into details of what happened but I’ll share some insights I’ve gathered from it.
It’s funny (maybe) because I started to relate my anxious heart to that of the Israelites. They’d just been freed from Egypt and given the promise to be led to their Promised Land. But in came complaints because of uncomfortableness. In came the regrets of not staying where they were before because “at least we had…fill in the blank.” And worse yet, the questioning of God’s follow through along with the questioning of God all together.
I will not deny that I’d fallen into every category above. Meanwhile it’s easy to praise God in the sanctuary or even when everything is going well. But when I’m given the opportunity to SEE HIM and His work in the circumstance(s) that I’m faced with, am I still praising or am I silent? This isn’t to shame nor condemn but to do a heart check of sorts—at least that’s the case for me. You may not have ever found yourself as a two-faced believer and that’s great! I’ll admit that I’ve fallen into that category at times too.
The Wilderness comparison is one thing but I don’t want to leave you there. I love that God always has a way of redirecting our hearts to Him. I love how He speaks through people to get us to see clearly and to rethink our way out of a panic. Through some prayer and a few amazing conversations I was given some keys to practically apply to this situation and even those to come. And I’d like to share them with you!
FOUR PRACTICES FOR WHEN LIFE HAPPENS:
REMEMBER
Yes, life happens but God is still God. (Say the period if you must.) After sulking for a bit, I finally took time to REMEMBER God’s faithfulness TO ME. It’s great to have the Bible and the testimonies of others, but when has God proven the same to me? Who have I experienced God to be for me personally? Take time to think about and write out the times you’ve seen God’s faithfulness in your life. Thank Him for those times and for the times to come because yes, He’s been faithful before but He always will be faithful. It’s Who He is!
RECALL
Remember in recall may go hand in hand. Bare with me and my need to have alliterations but as far as recalling is concerned, I’d say this is a point of continually making known God’s faithfulness to you. Basically, as a meditation of sorts, when the circumstance you’re facing tries to speak louder than the promise of God, remind yourself of the promises He’s come through on in your life. You’ve written down thing you remember, now take time to recall what’s been written.
REPLAY
Meditate on God’s faithfulness to you. God told Joshua to meditate on the word day and night that he may be successful. I stand to be corrected but I feel that we can consider the hand of God in our lives the Word of God at work. When we see God supply our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus and choose to meditate on that, we’re meditating on a promise He’s made in His Word by replaying it over and over again in our minds.
RECITE
Remind yourself of God’s faithfulness and remind Him that He’s been faithful. Remind God of the promises He’s made you while thanking Him for the promises He’s already fulfilled. As I mentioned above, when the circumstance tries to speak louder, SPEAK back to it. Tell the circumstance WHO YOUR GOD IS and how He’s come through for you before! Often times our problems only seem big because we’ve allowed their volume to get too loud. When we SPEAK to it and allow our history with God to speak loudest, the other voices lose their power.
Maybe it’s less about whether or not we believe and more about remembering WHY we believe. I mean, if we think about it, God has shown us time and again that we can trust Him. Therefore, we must continually remind ourselves of what God’s done for us. I pray that this post has blessed you! Please feel free to leave a comment below; I’d love to hear from you.
