The Wilderness

Henry David Thoreau is known for his sentiments on the importance of surrounding oneself with nature. He claims in his book Walden, that we must live "deliberately," and embrace nature. I've been thinking in particular about the seventeenth chapter of Walden, where he describes the various mediums or places man can meet nature. Thoreau mentions the wilderness. He says, "we must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, vast and Titanic features, the sea coast with its wrecks, the wilderness with its living and decaying trees.."(Walden Ch. 17). The wilderness stands out to me because of It's Biblical implications.

The Wilderness has been a significant place throughout the Scriptures. It is where Jesus Christ was tested by the devil (Matt 4 and Luke 4), where King David sough refuge from Saul, and where the Children of Israel after the Exodus had to wander for forty years. Too often the focus is on the actions of the people who had to endure the Wilderness. The spotlight or attention in sermons and commentaries is on Christ being tempted or the suffering of the people of Israel. But what about the location? What was God trying to say through the barren and desolate landscape? Is it an allegory of the human condition? That we are dry vessels that need the everlasting spring? Is the Wilderness a place devoid of the distractions of civilization; a place were we are can truly "be still," and "know" God? Or is the Wilderness the place where we are purged and forced to depend on divine provision and face our inner demons? The answer is probably all of the above.  

The Wilderness is not a place of suffering or dryness to me. On the contrary it is a place where I long to be. I feel that the Wilderness is that place set aside to meet with the King of Kings. It is a temple, a cathedral, and a open and beautiful tabernacle where I can set aside my selfish ambitions and seek the Almighty. It is a place, an oasis full of rock, sand, and wind. Thirst drives you through it, a thirst for the Living Water. It is not a curse to the sojourner, but a blessing. It drives a man to become introspective, to question, to seek, and to find. It is a transcended place, where you are free to wrestle with the contradictions, the dichotomies, and duplicities within your own being and the world around you. The Wilderness is the classroom for the Spirit Man. It is where the soul is free to unfold and be filled with the Words of the Most High. During our daily lives we sit in buildings made of steel and concrete. These foundations are surrounded by lively foliage and yet in such a physical oasis we can become dry inside and deprived of the much need spiritual nourishment.

What if the wandering through the desert isn't the suffering, and the mirage of a cool pool and palm trees is not the haven to refresh your soul? What if the real refreshment lies in treading across stone, and amongst the rocky mountains? What if the well of true delight and ecstasy doesn't dwell in a palace but instead in the desert? Is this feasible? Is it conceivable? The answer is yes. The Holy Land (Palestine/Israel) lies in the Wilderness. The most sacred place to the three monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) is Jerusalem and it lies in the Judean Hills: a place full of mountains, rock, sand, and dried plant life. In that place born again believers say they can feel the presence of the Holy One. That God's throne is there in Jerusalem. They speak of a transient place, one connected to heavenlies. And yet there are people who go there and don't perceive this wellspring of God's presence. They call it a ruse and that those who believe it to be holy are fools. They are missing the Wilderness experience because they are looking for the mirage. They want the palm trees and tranquil pools. They want the convenience and efficiency of contemporary living and thus resent the heat or pressure of the desert. They are not willing to thirst in the flesh to drink in the spirit.

The Wilderness is not to be avoided. It is to be sought. Don't just drive by it and seek the comforts of this world. Jesus says, "Deny yourself and pick up your cross." To do this we must embrace loss and march into the Wilderness. We must be willing to caste aside the luxuries and modern technologies. This need be only temporary, you can return to the computer, your iPhone, and the comforts of home right after. But find that Wilderness, that place where you and God can have a conversation; where you can vent your frustration and ponder the fathoms of your own soul. Open yourself to the divine dialogue, and drink in the hidden springs in the Wilderness of God.