Day 9: Hearing God's Voice in the Wilderness

Moses was living an entirely different life than what he once expected. He had grown up in the home of Pharaoh, and eventually the consequences of his sin drove him into the wilderness. Mercifully, he was able to develop a life there. He became a shepherd for his father-in-law for forty years. I have to imagine he had no intention of his life changing at this point. He certainly wouldn’t have planned on going back to Egypt, where he had once fled for his life. When the voice of God shows up in a miraculous way, He asks Moses to begin the journey of leading the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt. Moses responds with a very “human” amount of grumbling and bargaining with I AM.

I remember feeling like 2020 was going to be “my year”— what a wild ride that year was for us. Six months into it I found myself in a wilderness. I had no close-by community, was not involved in a local church, and had no sense of purpose in a job that drained my soul. Yet, that summer was the single most impactful time of my relationship with Jesus. I had daily coffee with Jesus, journaling the depths of my heart, and prayer walks around my neighborhood. Never in my life had I experienced a more sweet expression of God’s presence and the living representation of Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” And yet, I still grumbled with God.

As I was led to City Church that fall, I still held a grumbling in my spirit that needed to be healed. Then, I felt God speak an instruction to me, this 24-year-old, single man with no experience, “If you want to be like Jesus, you’ll be with the children.” Like Moses, I felt disqualified for what God was asking, yet, I said “yes.”

That began my healing journey of my disappointment with God, and his Church, and became a job that fills me with purpose and delight. Because of the intimacy and clarity in the wilderness, my invitation was clear – as was Moses’. The unexpected call on his life was cultivated solely through hearing God’s voice in the wilderness, and his (somewhat reluctant) “yes” that followed.

Our wilderness experiences cultivate something in us that prepare us for something greater than we can imagine while we’re in them. AND, the grace of I AM can sustain our grumbling because of a love that is deep, personal, and knows pain and grief Himself. Being honest with Him about our present state developes that intimacy and clarity that can help us give a simple “yes” to His call when it comes.

How is God using your wilderness to become more acquainted with His voice? How can this season produce intimacy with Him that leads to clarity in what He says?


PRAY:
Father, thank you for being near to the broken-hearted, and those crushed in spirit. May I see you more clearly now than I ever have before. May I trust you enough to humbly lay down my grumblings before you, and say yes to that which you have called me. Help me to see you and hear your voice today. Amen.