The Drained Condition

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Kings 18:18-40; 1 Kings 19:1-18

 [In this series, we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but the metaphorical wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is always with you.]

  

My Grandson loves to win! As a second grader, he is sixth in a school wide cross country running contest. That means he’s beating kids that are three grades older than him. I’m sure he wins fair and square. But sometimes, when he competes against his grandparents, I’m not so sure.

 

He has a set of toys called Beyblades. Some time ago, he had an overnight with Grandpa and Nonna. For fun, he set up a Beyblade tournament. We’d never heard of Beyblades, let alone how to play. Not surprisingly, he whipped Nonna and Grandpa every time! I think it was rigged.

 

Elijah was involved in a competition that was rigged; only he rigged it in favor of his opponents, the prophets of Baal. The purpose of the contest was to see whose god was the true god. It was agreed upon by both sides that each would prepare a sacrifice. Then whichever god started the sacrificial fire first, “He is God”.

 

The 450 prophets of Baal shouted out to their god all day long while dancing and cutting themselves to get a response, but without success. At the end of the day, Elijah prepared his sacrifice; had it thoroughly drenched with water three times; and then quietly prayed to the Lord. Immediately, the fire consumed everything.

 

These events were a mountaintop experience for Elijah. He was filled with the Spirit of the Lord while confronting the powers of evil; even Ahab, the king of Israel. You could easily imagine that Elijah had an adrenaline high. No doubt, it was an emotional day.

 

Despite this miraculous display of the Lord’s power, when Jezebel threatened Elijah’s life… he ran into the wilderness.

 

³ Elijah was afraid 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.”   NIV

 

Sometimes living in the wilderness can sneak up on you when it’s least expected. In fact, an emotional high often leads to an emotional low. Gordon McDonald wrote about this in his book “Restoring Your Spiritual Passion”. He called it, “the drained condition”. It’s a common experience. So what can you do?

 

¹¹ “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain… After the wind there was an earthquake… ¹² And after the earthquake there was a fire… And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.                NLT

 

So what can you do? Follow Elijah’s example. Find a place to hear the still small voice of the Lord, and then follow Him.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
2 Samuel 11:1-5; Psalm 32:1-11

 [In this series, we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but the metaphorical wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is always with you.]

  

Regrets! We all have them. Sometimes they’re small, like when I sold my vintage record
collection for pennies on the dollar; or when I threw away my 1974-76 collection of Michigan State football programs that I had saved for 30 years. Man I wish I wouldn’t have done that! I still regret it!

 

Some regrets though, are more serious. Like acting out on an addiction which results in hurting those you love the most, as well as yourself. You wish you could take it back, but it’s in the past, and you can’t change the past. Not only can you not change it, but the consequences can be life changing.

 

Regrets lead to guilt and shame. They can eat you up on the inside leading into more self-destructive behavior. Regrets can stay with you for years, if not for the rest of your life. David was intimately familiar with regrets.

 

He had an adulterous affair with Bathsheba. Then, to make matters worse, he had her husband Uriah, killed in battle. Even though David recognized his sin and confessed it, there were life changing consequences.

 

The son that David and Bathsheba conceived together… died; David’s son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar; in retaliation, Absalom, who was Tamar’s brother, killed Amnon; eventually Absalom conspired to overthrow David. On and on it went like ripples in the water. David lived in a wilderness of his own creation.

 

Here’s what David wrote about living in the wilderness, and how the Lord healed him.

 

³ When I kept it all inside,
    my bones turned to powder,
    my words became daylong groans.

⁴ The pressure never let up;
    all the juices of my life dried up.

⁵ Then I let it all out;
    I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.”

Suddenly the pressure was gone—
    my guilt dissolved,
    my sin disappeared.        MSG

 

Woulda, coulda, shoulda. We all feel that way sometimes; like we’re living in a wilderness of our own making. Thankfully, the Lord forgives; the Lord heals; the Lord makes us whole again.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

Only Go Forward

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Samuel 17:32-51

 [In this series, we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but the metaphorical wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is always with you.]

  

This blog was posted on Saturday, September 11, 2021; twenty years to the day when nearly 3000 people died in the World Trade Center. My wife and I watched a six part series on the National Geographic channel documenting many of the stories of that day. One of the stories was about a marine by the name of Jason Thomas.

 

He was dropping his daughter off at the home of his mother on Long Island when she told him planes had struck the towers. Having left active duty in August 2001, Thomas quickly put on his Marine uniform, sped to Manhattan, and parked his car just as the North Tower collapsed.

 

When he arrived at Ground Zero he didn’t have a plan, but soon ran into another Marine veteran. Together, they decided to look for survivors. While walking on the rubble, firemen called out to them to come back because it was too dangerous. Thomas responded by saying, “We are U.S. Marines. We never go back. We only go forward”! As a result, they saved the lives of several people that day.

 

Jason Thomas was not looking to become a hero. He only responded to the situation and the calling he believed he had as a Marine. In the same way, David responded when Samuel visited his father Jesse to anoint David as King of Israel.

 

David never asked to be a hero when he volunteered to fight Goliath. He never asked to be the soothing musician that calmed King Saul’s tormented soul. He never asked to be the anointed King of Israel.  And he definitely never asked to be hunted down like an animal, while living in the wilderness, with the most powerful man in Israel trying to run a spear through him.

 

David never asked for any of these things, but he embraced them with the faith of a man after God’s own heart. And because of that, he was able to endure the wilderness. The wilderness where he ran for his life; he hid in caves; he pretended to be insane; and he prayed to the Lord for deliverance.

 

Sometime you may find yourself wandering in the wilderness. When that happens, be ready to respond by going forward with confidence like David did when he faced Goliath.

 

⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied… ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”       NIV

 

Be ready to respond to the needs of people; to the Spirit of God; to God’s calling.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

What’s the Best Thing That’s Ever Happened to You?

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Samuel 1:1-20

 [In this series, we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but the metaphorical wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is still with you.]

  

In the 2007 movie “The Game Plan”, the plot revolves around football star Joe Kingman, played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Peyton, the daughter he never knew he had. Kingman is a self-absorbed NFL quarterback; while Peyton is as sweet as pie.

 

She shows up, unannounced, at the door of his bachelor penthouse, with one question on her mind… “What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you Joe?” She never hears the answer she wants, until the end of the movie.

 

How would you answer the question, “What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you?” If you finally got it, would you be willing to give it up? Hannah did.

 

Hannah lived in the wilderness. It was the wilderness of being barren in a culture that praised women who bore children. It was the wilderness of her rival, her husband’s other wife, who would taunt her mercilessly for being barren. It was the wilderness of her insensitive husband who thought being married to him was better than having ten sons.

 

There’s no doubt that Hannah lived in the wilderness. And even though she suffered great pain and anguish, she made this vow to the Lord.

 

¹⁰ In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. ¹¹ And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life…       NIV

 

Hannah remained faithful to the Lord when it would have been very, very easy to stray away from Him. She persevered in her faith and prayers. Even when she “was in deep anguish, crying bitterly “, she prayed to the Lord.

 

The most important question to ask yourself is not, “What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you?” But, “How do you respond when you don’t get the most important thing”? Do you stop hoping; stop trusting; stop praying? Do you think that you can’t trust the Lord anymore?

 

Following the birth and dedication of her son Samuel, Hannah prayed this prayer. Let it be my prayer; let it be yours. To the Lord Almighty... "The Rock".

 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord!
    The Lord has made me strong.
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
    I rejoice because you rescued me.
² No one is holy like the Lord!
    There is no one besides you;
    there is no Rock like our God.              NLT

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams