Into The Wilderness

"Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan River and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil." ~Luke 4:1-2a

Led into the wilderness

Carried into exile

Placed in a spot

Tailor made for me

Despair, by Rose Waugh, copyright 2004

A vessel emptied and

Waiting to be filled

Silence…….

There are lessons to be learned

In this silence

No longer the teacher

But the student

No longer the scribe
But the reader

Refinement taking place

In the absence of words

Alone…..

Those I thought I knew

Strangers now

Like vapors that have

Disappeared

They are gone, and I am

Afraid…..

A moan

A cry

A sigh

Escape my lips at various times

Echoing back

Among the ruins

The sound of my own voice

A cruel taunt

Cry For Help, by Deborah Nell

And yet….I sense

That I am no longer

Alone

And fear evaporates

Now there is One

Who waits beside me

His nearness…

A comfort

His presence…

My strength

Spirit of the Living God, by Deborah Nell

Although I cannot see Him yet

I know that He is

Here…right here

I sense His love

His peace

His wordless invitation

To come closer– to Him

Because He’s been in this place before

Himself…alone

Temptation In The Wilderness, by Briton Riviere

Exiled while still fresh

From the wild man’s baptism

Spirited into this desert

With droplets of the Jordan still clinging to

His hair

Abandoned by friends with

Fear His close companion as He

Sweats great drops like blood and prays

Alone in a garden dark

So I lean into this Shepherd
This Friend

This Brother
This God Man of hope and compassion

His breath, warm and sweet

Like a gentle summer breeze

Upon my head

His heartbeat a rhythm

Like a sweet symphony

In my ear

The Promise, by Morgan Weistling

Waiting…..
Breathing....

Content now

To sit at His feet and

To wait…

To learn…

In exile

In the wilderness

In silence

No longer alone

No longer afraid

When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. ~ Jeremiah 29:13-14, NRSV

A Prayer To Abba

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" ~ Romans 8:15 (NASB)

Abba Father, there are days that come when we feel so overwhelmed by our life circumstances; by the situations and events we see taking place all around us; by the people in our lives who are often abrasive, deceitful, difficult to love or forgive -- cold and uncaring or just plain too busy for us. 

Things aren’t working out the way we want them to; life isn't turning out the way we’d hoped, dreamed or planned. We cry out to You in desperation, but our voices echo back to us, our tears splash back on our faces and we feel alone in our struggles and our desperate needs. We wonder where You are in the midst of these dark and violent storms, these fiery trials and frightening happenings, these climbs up the steep mountainside......are You listening? Why won’t You answer the cries of Your children? We are anxious and afraid.

Photo Credit

Oh, but Abba, You DO hear us and recognize our voices. You are well aware of our circumstances, You know exactly what we need. You see us in our wilderness and You are not surprised to find us there. You are with us, right beside us in the lonely deep, dark pit or in the chaotic and frantic crowd, although we find it hard to see You through our tear soaked eyes, and to hear You and feel Your presence above our rapidly beating hearts, racing minds and shaking bodies. 

Help us to be still and know that You are God, and that You are constantly working behind the scenes in our favor, although we can’t see the work being done nor the fruit of that work as yet. Perhaps You are leading us down a path we don’t want to travel.  Perhaps You are preparing us for something yet to come. Or You are teaching us a hard and painful lesson we don’t wish to learn. You tell us, “Follow Me,” but we are afraid of the destination and the unfamiliar change of scenery. 

Help us, dear Father, to trust You totally and completely, because we know that You are merciful, forgiving and compassionate, always offering us Your amazing grace and unfailing love. You have ransomed us; You know us well, calling us by our names because we are Yours. When we pass through the deep waters, You WILL be with us; when we go through rivers of difficulty in our lives, You WILL NOT let us drown; and when we walk through the fires of oppression, You WILL NOT let them burn us up nor allow the flames to consume us as we fear they will. 

Photo Credit

We are so very precious to You and You love us. Help us to remember this, dearest Abba Father, and to not be afraid, no matter what. We ask this in the wonderful Name of Jesus, amen.

Why should the Father bother to call us His children?
Why should the Spirit hear it when we pray?
Why should the Father bother to be concerned with all our needs?
It's all because of what the Son has done
And we cry "Abba Father, Abba Father
Abba Father, Abba Father"
We cry "Abba Father, Abba Father
Abba Father, Abba Father" ~ Why Should The Father Bother? by Petra