What is your wilderness?

Greetings and Happy Sabbath,

I hope everyone had a great Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles. I spent this year at home. My oldest dog who just turned 16 isn't doing well, so I thought I would stay home, just in case. I did do a couple of day trips that were fun.

When you think of the wilderness, what comes to mind? Does the Hebrews wandering in the wilderness for 40 years come to mind? Or how about Jesus wandering in the desert for 40 days without food and water? And Satan attempted to tempt him during this time?

How about your own wilderness? What trial are you going thru right now? Most of us that are living this way of life, know that we are going to have trials and tribulations. Most of us are in 1 of 3 places, we are either heading into a trial, right smack in the middle of one or we are heading out of one. Once a trial is over, do we thank YHVH for bringing us thru? Do we thank YHVH when we are in the middle of one?

Scripture tells us to be thankful for our trials-

James 1:2-4-Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:12-Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

1 Peter 5:10-And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Philippians 4:6-Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Romans 5:3-Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

1 Peter 1:6-In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

YHVH allows trials to come upon us to strenthen us, to rely more on him and Yeshua. It's ok to be glad when the trial is over, we can breathe a sigh of relief and then continue to move forward with our lives. But, we need to remember, we still need to rely on YHVH for everything in our lives, not just thru a trial. Not say, ok, this trial is over, I got it from here.

Every single day, we need to rely on him for everything, just like the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4.

I spent some time during the weekly sabbath on Oct. 10 reflecting about the last 7.25 years of me and my husband's marriage. 33 out of those those 88 months, we were deep in the wilderness. So deep, I never thought we would find our way out again. Fortunately, after 18 months we found our way out. But after only 15 months, we were back into the widlerness again but this time, we wouldn't be able to find our way out together. This time, he received the cancer diagnosis and it was terminal. This time, I would have to navigate the wilderness alone 80 days after diagnosis. Am I still wandering in the wilderness 4.25 years later, absolutely. Do I see a light at the edge of the trees? It's faint, but yes, I see it. I pray daily, asking for help and the strength to navigate this life that I'm walking alone after almost 34 years of marriage.

So again, I will ask, What is your wilderness? Where are you in the wilderness? And are you thanking God for the time in the wilderness?

Have a great Sabbath,

Lori