Most of us know the Christmas story well. We focus our attention on Jesus’ birth at this time of year and it is wonderful to do so. I was reading an article on the second week of advent earlier this week and the scripture used to begin the article came out of Luke 3.
The verse that has been floating around in my head since reading it is this: “The word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.” Now this word was for John to be the forerunner for Jesus, paving a path for Jesus and the message he would bring.
But what I want you to see today is found in this little verse. The word came to John where? In the wilderness! Earlier in Luke we see that John lived in the desert and wilderness areas of Israel most of his life. Those who made that choice spent their lives seeking God and what God would have them do. By living in the wilderness part of their lives, they were freeing themselves of the distractions of life in order to focus. (Where did Jesus go for 40 days immediately following his baptism?)
The point I am making is this – do you ever find yourself in the wilderness? Do you ever feel lost and disoriented with life? Do you ever feel abandoned and forgotten?
It is in the wilderness that we find God. But the key is to transition our attention from ourselves and the self-pity we may be feeling and place it on God, the creator of all life. We may dread “wilderness” times in our lives, but both John and Jesus went to the desert. We can learn something from that fact.
Have you lost your way today? God has a word for you – just ask.
Clay in the Hands 
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