Today’s Lenten reflection was written by Tracey Nicholls, Mission and Ministry Team Administrator.
I have a confession to make, I am a “Word Nerd”. Next to the Bible, my favourite book is the dictionary. I have always loved words – their roots, their multiple meanings, the way they allow us to express ourselves and make sense of the world. So, it will come as no surprise to you that when I was given the Lentern theme of “Wilderness”, I reached for both my Bible and my dictionary.
Here are two of the definitions given for the noun “wilderness”:
- A large area of land that has never been developed or used for growing crops because it is difficult to live there
- A place that people do not take care of or control
At first glance, the theological implications of these definitions seem tenuous, but please bear with me.
The wilderness is not somewhere where we feel comfortable; it is not a place where we want to live – primarily because it is “difficult”. Ironically, the place where growing crops is difficult or impossible is exactly the place God calls us to produce growth in our spiritual lives. It is not somewhere we will live permanently, but there will be wilderness episodes and even seasons in life where it will be difficult. However, as we see over and over again in the Bible, the wilderness is where growth happens – the lives of Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus all testify to the fertile spiritual soil the wilderness provides.
The second definition reminds us that we do not have control in or over the wilderness. It is a place where the veneer of civilization is unmasked and all our pretenses to autonomy and self-sufficiency fall away. We find ourselves, like Jesus, to be hungry (physically, emotionally, spiritually), vulnerable, tested and potentially lonely. But we are never truly alone in the wilderness. If we let Him, God can take control and lead us through, teaching us and drawing close to us in the most life-giving and life-changing ways. It is only when everything is stripped away in the wilderness that we realize our utter dependency on God.
Of course, the scriptures were not written originally in English, so I was interested to explore the Hebrew term for wilderness. The term is pronounced “midbar”. But because there are no vowels in Hebrew, the letters that spell it out are M-D-B-R. Coincidentally, this is also how the Hebrew word, “medaber”, is spelt – which means “to speak”. I hope that you, as well as my fellow word nerds (and maybe you are one too!), will find encouragement in the fact that the “midbar” (wilderness) is where God calls us so that He can “medaber” (speak). In the place where we relinquish our control and comfort zone, God can communicate most clearly. And isn’t it wonderful that the message of salvation, which carries us through the Lentern desert days, came first from John The Baptist – “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3).
This Lent, I pray that we will all embrace this walk on the wild side and be open to all that God has to say to and do in us.
