He carries you

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness while He waiting for an entire generation to die because of their disobedience. Most scholars say that they wandered for about 40 years and while they wandered a new generation was born and grew as they waited for their chance to enter the Promise Land.  The Israelites were not used to living in the wilderness and while they wandered they faced many dangers, including lack of water and starvation.

I love the out of doors, there is no place I would rather be then in a tent in the woods with a fire roaring away, but there are things to be aware of when you are in the woods.  My biggest fear when camping is bears.  Normally campers and bears get a long pretty well, but occasionally you get a rogue bear that has been fed human food and they become a nuisance.  Those bears can sometimes come into your camp and mistake you for your dinner leftovers.  I'm not a big fan of being mistakenly eaten, so when in bear country I know how to take precautions and keep my food downwind of my tent, but I still sleep with one eye open.

People have their own personal wildernesses that they travel through from time to time and there are plenty of dangers there as well and just like bears if you don't take precautions you might get eaten. Self-doubt, self-loathing and self-pity run rampant in personal wildernesses and when not put in check they will eat you from the inside out.

To be honest I started this post many weeks ago and got stuck but today someone reminded me that good things have happened in the desert, in fact He often shows up while you are there.  So instead of finishing this the way I intended I am going to take a totally different path. So here goes...

Here's are several moments in the Word that mention the wilderness and Him or His messengers:

1Samuel 23:14  David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but He did not give David into his hands. 

1Kings 19:3-6  Elijah was afraid^[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, ⁴ while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” ⁵ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
   All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

Matthew 3:3 This is he (speaking of John the Baptist) who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for Him, make straight paths for him.

Matthew 4:8-11 (Jesus is tempted in the desert)  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’^[e]” ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by the Devil.  During that time He fasted and the tricky Devil even tempted Him with food at one point to see if he could break Him, but His faith withstood the temptation and then His angels came.  John the Baptist was the voice calling from the desert that the Prophets had for told, his faith in the One Unseen was so great that he baptized people in the Jordan river in His name, he was the precursor to the coming of the Son. Elijah went into the desert to die, in fact he asked Him to take his life and in response He sent His angels.

Until today, I was focused on the wilderness or desert as a punishment like the wilderness that the Israelites were in but now that I have read these scriptures but now I see it as a place for healing and new beginnings.

So what do you do when in the wilderness? Well like I said previously you have to look out for bears and other wild animals that might mistake you for dinner, bears like self-doubt, self-loathing or self-pity.  However luckily like Elijah, He is watching out for us and even when we are being eaten, He will send His angels to rescue us but we still have to keep on our toes and take precautions.  Allowing a wild animal into your camp is never a good idea so we need to know how to keep them at bay.

The best way to keep bears from entering your tent is to not allow for that temptation, don't bring food in your tent and tie your leftovers high in a tree downwind from your campsite. Also always camp with a friend, a second set of eyes and ears is always helpful when in bear country and always bring a trail guide with you.  Often times bears stay away from people that are camping near a well used trail but of course the smart bears know that where people are so is food so that is not always the case but every little precaution helps, plus sometimes if we wander far from a marked trail we might accidentally wander onto a bear trail and that will always lead to trouble.  Even with all the food precautions if you camp near a bear trail you will certainly have an unwelcome visitor.

So what does that mean for all you that don't camp, well...take care of yourself, don't allow the temptation of self-doubt, self-loathing and self-pity to creep into your life.  Remember when in the wilderness you must think about yourself first, it's like when you fly and the flight attendant says to put your mask on first.  You can't be of use to anyone else if you don't put your mask on first.

Search out help, find a friend or buddy that can walk with you.  It's amazing what an extra pair of eyes can do.  They can see the bears creeping in before you do and they can normally warn you if you get to far off the trail. Then, bring and read your map.  Read it constantly, go to it for direction and use it when looking for discernment about something.  My road map is my bible and my prayer life, if I feel self-loathing creeping in I go to the source that reminds me that "I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  If I feel self-doubt creeping in I go to His instruction manual and I look for direction.  If I feel self-pity creeping up on me, I cry out to the One that made me to remind me that He never gives up on me, no matter what I have done or what I might do, He loves me unconditionally.  And if I find myself camped on a bear trail and the bears are closing in, I call on all of my resources to help get me out of danger.

But whenever you are in the wilderness remember that He is there with you.  I am reminded of the Footprints story when I think of the wilderness.  Most of the time there are two sets of footprints, yours and His.  And other times there is just one, but don't lose hope those are the moments that He is carrying you.