God of the Wilderness

Genesis 28:16
..."Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it”.

The Bible in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 1 Cor 10:11 says that all scripture, including ancient history, is recorded in the Bible for instruction and as examples for our benefit. Remember, Jacob?

Not content with persuading Esau, his elder brother, into selling his birthright, Jacob tricked his father, Isaac into blessing him instead of his brother. He was forced to flee his family because of his broken relationship with his brother, who now threatened to kill him.

Jacob was alone and while sleeping in the wilderness area at Bethel he encountered God. This was Jacob’s first personal encounter with the God of his ancestors. In his dream, he saw that Heaven was opened up to him. The Lord spoke to him there and gave him a promise to give him the very land on which he was lying.

This encounter with God in the wilderness made Jacob realize that God is in this place, even though he had not been aware of it. How often we too fail to recognize that God is in the very place where we are. God had to remove Jacob from all that was of comfort to him in order to reveal Himself to Jacob. What began as a crisis in Jacob’s life led to an encounter with the living God and a fresh vision of God's purposes for his life.

God brought Jacob to a place of separation from his old life and stripped him of all his worldly possessions. He was alone with God at Bethel; nothing could distract him from the encounter that would change his life forever.

In our life, we go through different wilderness experiences during different seasons of our lives. Look back to the time when you first personally encountered God. You were probably walking through the toughest wilderness experience in your life. God met you there and gave you a new vision for you life. You probably thought that the wilderness would never touch you again, but you realize you are now passing thru one. Jacob too had to pass through another wilderness.

If in Gen 28 Jacob was alone and bereft of all worldly possessions, then by Gen 32 he is extremely wealthy and has a large entourage. Yet Gen 32.24 tells us that Jacob was left alone and he wrestled with God till daybreak. It was during this encounter with God that Jacob became Israel. It was God’s intention to bless Jacob and the current crisis in Jacob’s life was essential; so nothing could distract Jacob from his encounter with God.

Like Jacob, God allows different wilderness experiences in our lives too. In fact, God often does radical things in our lives because He has radical plans for us. Things like separation from family, removal of physical and emotional resources are often the hallmarks of an eminent encounter with God. Time and again, God uses these encounters to build a vision into our lives.

Often wilderness is the best place to meet with God on a personal level. May we have the faith and humility to submit to God during our wilderness experiences so that we may come out of it with a new vision and greater blessings.