 We are working our way through a mini-series on strategies for enduring the wilderness wanderings of life, following the example of Caleb who had "a different spirit" in "follow[ing] [God] fully" (Numbers 14:24), even through the 40-year holding pattern he endured. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) STRATEGY 4 — ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE If we would cultivate a different spirit that fully follows God even through the “holding patterns” and wilderness wanderings of life, we must evaluate our perspective, express our burdens in prayer, and endure with patience. Lastly, we must engage with people!
The holding patterns of life often make us feel like moving away from people rather than towards them. I’m not completely sure why that is, but that’s been my experience. When life feels aimless and they feel like they're wandering around in circles, people often start to think that they just need a fresh setting, a clean state, a new start. I can’t help but think that not only is that not the solution, but it’s actually part of the problem. In all of life and ministry, we ought to move towards people and not away, and that’s no different than in the wilderness (Hebrews 10:24-25). 1. Life is ministry, and ministry is people. People are fascinating, people are complex, people are funny, people are unpredictable, and people are needy—people will make your wilderness wandering less aimless! You can wander with purpose and fulfillment, if you’re focused on people. Colossians 1:28-29 can and must still happen in the wilderness. Give yourself to coming alongside other wilderness wanderers! 2. Your church is your family. Remember who we are—we’re not just an organization, we’re an organism; we’re not just buddies, we’re a body; we’re not just friends, we’re family. Starting over somewhere is not the solution to your seeming aimlessness, because your church family is not the source of your seeming aimlessness, but rather the solution. Timothy provides a good example for us in Philippians 2:20-21—“For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.” Don’t push your church family away. Don't abandon them. Let them help you. Help them. 3. Be gospel-driven in your departing. It may be that the Lord is using your holding pattern here to land you somewhere else. After all, the life of Christ is one of denying yourself, taking up your cross, following Jesus, and losing your life yet finding it for His sake. So, God may be leading you to move forward, to take risks, to embark on an adventure, to leave behind the wilderness for the Wild of Christian mission. However, you need to evaluate your motive in moving on. If you do move on, do so “for the sake of the gospel” (Matthew 10:37-39; Mark 8:34-37), not for the sake of your own escape—for after all, what does it profit to gain the whole world and lose your soul! CONCLUSION A 40-year wilderness wandering, the consequence of others’ sin, was what God had ordained for Caleb. And yet, he weathered it well, for after all, he had a different spirit in fully following His God. And 40-years later, the sun broke through the clouds, and God led Caleb out of the wilderness into the victory of the Promised Land. Dear brother and sister, wilderness wanderings are real, holding patterns are common, and feelings of aimlessness are not uncommon. Most likely, friend, this season will pass, but God intends for you to engage in the kind of spiritual warfare that He will use to make it pass. So, evaluate your perspective and humble yourself under the sovereign hand of God; express in prayer to God and accountability with others your burdens and cares and find the grace God provides; endure with patience this time, keeping your eyes fixed on the kind face of Christ who lovingly endured for you; and engage with people, God’s antidote at all times for aimless living when you take the gospel and press it into the lives of those around you. There are most likely many more, but these four strategies for enduring the wilderness wanderings of life are a good place to start. May God use them to give us a different spirit in fully following the Lord no matter what landscape He leads us through. Comments are closed.
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