The Journey Through the Wilderness onto a Clear Purpose Focused Path: Part 1

Luke 4:1-12, Isaiah 40:28-31

The month of February which we are now living in, has been rated as the least popular month of the entire year. There are some exceptions about it, but in a lot of ways, February feels like somehow we are living in an unfocused time of wilderness, devoid of much light, somewhat isolated because of the weather, confused by & wrestling with, the various worldly temptations & gracious proclamations from God our Creator, & following no particular clear path as we wait for something exciting or good to happen in the new year not really knowing what that might be or how we might fit into the future or how to move forward. With the celebrating of Christmas & New Years behind us & the shorter amount of light in each day due to the winter solstice, life seems to slow down during February. Depression & doubt are common in this wilderness season as we often tend to use our time reflecting back over the last year, sometimes with regret & other times with threads of gratitude. And if we are not looking back, we spend our time looking forward in dread & fear, & in other times in sporadic hope.

There is so much unknown when we are in a wilderness season & so many voices pushing in on us, tempting us & testing us, as we explore what opportunities are offered to us, who to listen to & what our choices say about who we are. It can be unsettling as we pause & try to figure out how to handle the mistakes we made in the past, or the crises we experience in our own lives or in others & then to discern what we hope will occur & what we know can be & how to bring that hope & healing to life as we move forward into the new year set before us. The choices we make regarding the purpose of our life while inthe wilderness & the voices we listen to help shape our life as we move into anew day. It is sometimes tempting & easy to make the wrong choices, or to just stay stuck in the darkness of unknowing, while we are in the wilderness of life & to give up. However, as believers in God & the Risen Christ, we know the life of faith, prayer, & the reflection & proclamation of His Word is the path we are called to follow & live into.

The slow quiet time when we are in a wilderness season, offers us an opportunity to pause & reflect on our life & to discern what we might do next; to live into & spread God’s promise of redemption, for that is the believer’s purpose in life. If we pause & remember that it is our Holy Living God who sends us into the wilderness & walks with us as we wrestle & wander, we will know the path to journey on that will fulfill our purpose for new life given, for the God who created us & sent us, is the God who will always walk with us. The wilderness time can be a time to pause & reflect on the gift of life given & to absorb the time as a season of growth, renewal, & revival of our spirits as we live into a new day & with God’s help & direction, participate in bringing hope & healing to life.

~Posted by Rev Kathryn Bindig, MDiv. MS; Pastoral Care Minister with assistance from Rich Muscatello; Director of Business Development & Strategy