Grace in the Wilderness....

I have been reading through Jeremiah and that book is filled with leadership lessons; however, that's a book that you would not believe that to be true. The last couple of chapters did not have a great deal of leadership lessons on them, but I found an amazing gem today. Jeremiah 31:2 says, "The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness -- Israel, when I went to give him rest." Huh? What? Grace in the wilderness after surviving slaughter? Really?

That simple phrase struck me. You have the nation of Israel that has been conquered by a foreign nation that resulted in the slaughter of unknown numbers of people. Others were taken away as captives to a foreign land. Still, many were left behind with little and the land was desolate. How can you find grace or rest in that type of circumstance?

As I pondered that through my rather trying day, the answer him me on the ride home. After Jesus was baptized and His Father spoke to those around, He went into the wilderness for 40 days without fellowship or food. He was tempted but remained true to His calling. Why? Why would Jesus go through that? Simply, He can now come along side us and whisper: "I've been there where you are now. Trust me and I will lead you through this wilderness." The key is that last 3 words -- THROUGH the wilderness.

Our modern world, particularly in America, has grown accustomed to our modern conveniences and we love our lives of leisure and luxury. We want grace to get OUT of the wilderness while God wants to show us His grace IN the wilderness. In those tough times, we see that we must depend upon God. The barrenness and the heat of the wilderness forces us to seek shade that only God can provide. The hard times show us the merciful Savior that we have.

Consider Matthew 11:28-30 -- "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Look at the central part of the phrases -- "LEARN FROM ME." Yes, Jesus went to burden so that He could teach us the wonderful, although tough, lessons from the wilderness.

Grace and rest can be found in the wilderness. To find it, we must get our eyes of the daily grind and start looking for Him. He's there and ready to help. The problem in the wilderness is that we think we have something to prove; however, He already knows that we need Him. We are led into the wilderness to confirm in our hearts the truth that He knows -- He must increase and I must decrease (John 3:30)