The Wilderness
Is it possible that God could forget me?
No chance for a life that is set free?
Chastened and low,
The world not my home,
In the wilderness, God finally met me.
But like Ezekiel, Elijah and Moses,
It’s the suffering, through which he knows us,
In deserts and caves,
While the world misbehaves,
His sovereign will, is what He shows us.
Ezekiel lost his hair and his wife,
Elijah never escaped constant strife,
His whole life Moses wandered,
Promised land Israel squandered,
Is this the script for the end of my life?
How ‘bout the gospel of prosperity,
Where staying this low is a rarity,
Notoriety and good looks,
I can record this in books,
This must be my true clarity.
If I can just hold on for a little while,
God will ultimately restore my smile,
By giving the things,
The abundant life brings,
No longer swallowing this wilderness bile.
Yet my eyes just cannot look away,
From the scriptures and just what they say,
It’s the wilderness direction,
That followed resurrection,
For the disciples who said he was the Way.
To the Isle of Patmos was exiled John,
Upside down on a cross Peter’s drawn,
James beheaded at first,
Stephen’s stoning the worst,
And we don’t even know where Paul’s gone.
So why does this wilderness suit the Creator?
To our whims, why doesn’t he cater?
If sojourning is home,
Cast outs we must roam,
What makes John the Baptist’s life so much greater?
He who lived to just pave the way,
Who baptized our Lord that great day,
Who questioned from prison,
That no rescue was given,
He sent friends to ask what Jesus would say.
Jesus said, send to John some instruction,
That in spite of impending destruction,
The lame walk the blind see,
Wilderness is jubilee,
And it grows through our human reduction.
We become less and He becomes more,
Our great needs we just can’t ignore,
And although we will thirst,
May we not be coerced,
To lose sight of the One we adore.