Joy an’ happiness, whatever makes life worth livin’, is in you. No man can go forth to find what he hasn’t got within him.”

                     –Zane Grey  (Wanderer of the Wasteland)

 

       “The LORD came down on top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain.  So Moses climbed the mountain.”

                    –Exodus 19:20 (NLT)

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As you read this you may be recalling some trip you made into the wilderness.  Perhaps you are currently going through that wasteland experience.  What is it that forced you into the wilderness?  There may be many reasons:  you were forced there by others or by circumstances, you are running away and found yourself there as a means of escape, it was an accident that brought you into the wilderness and you may have entered in desperation, to die.  Yet few would ever recognize that they have been placed there by God.  There is something to learn, to gain from this special time.  There is the opportunity to come closer to the Lord, to know Him better and in a more intimate way.

     The woman Hagar fled to the wilderness to die.  She was running from the hateful treatment by Abraham’s wife, Sarah.  She was giving herself up to die along with her unborn son when God found her.  Isn’t it ironic that the name of Ishmael means “God hears”?  He heard the moans of Hagar in that desert wilderness, spoke to her, and brought her comfort.

     Sometime later we see that Abraham has thrust Hagar, and her now young boy, into that same wilderness.  The wasteland was before her, and surely Abraham knew that he didn’t give them enough food and water to survive, for Abraham was a man of the wilderness.  This time Hagar enters the wilderness because she was forced there by another person.  Pushed out and probably given up to eventually die out there.  A master and a father was the tool used to send them away.  Abraham could not, or would not, stand up to Sarah’s jealousy, so he pushed the seeming intruders into the vast wasteland–to die.

     However, the boy did not die, nor did his mother.  In fact, it seems that the boy adjusted well to the wilderness.  He did not try to leave, and eventually he married.  Have you ever thought much about Ishmael and Hagar after they left the tents of Abraham?  Did they serve God?  Did Abraham give them enough of a foundation to find and serve God?  They may have, especially since God appeared to Hagar and saved them.  How many people are mentioned in the holy writ to have actually seen God?  Hagar and Ishmael must have been people special to God and part of His larger plan.  It makes a person wonder, what would the world be like if Hagar and Ishmael had stayed in the tents of Abraham?  Or if they had died in that wasteland?  This is surely a mystery; there must be something in the overall plan of God that is hidden.  After walking in the wastelands and seeing the wilderness, what would or should Ishmael have learned?  In pondering that, there is one thing for certain; he would learn to survive.  The other thing is that he would be able to handle the solitude that was there.

     Imagine the thoughts that must flow through the minds of those who find themselves evicted into the wilderness by their father, or other person.  What is it that they must learn?  Will they find God, or will they be like Ishmael and only learn how to survive, but not depend upon God?  Those of you in this situation need to recognize that God is listening for you to cry out to Him.  He has allowed you an opportunity to come to a greater knowledge of Him.  Don’t get bitter because the place you are–that wilderness, but call out to the Lord, He is waiting.  Don’t struggle just to survive, but seek Him.

 

(taken from Trails in the Wilderness)

                    –D.C. Adkisson  (The Outlaws of Boulder Canyon)

       “…The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.  By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”
                      –Psalm 19:9-11 (NIV)
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What is a fulfilled life?  Is it having your “barns full” so to speak like the rich man we read about in Luke 12.  Jesus tells the story”  “So he said, “I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”‘  But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (18-21, NKJV)  “Fool!”  What a scary thought when God calls someone a fool; it should make us tremble and ponder our lives.  It doesn’t stop with the words of Jesus as Paul wrote Timothy, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.  Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19, NKJV)
     Wealth, fame, and power seek those who live for themselves and for the world.  On the other hand there are those who believe that when they come to Christ life will be boring, dull, a disappointing life.  Ha, nothing could be further from the truth!  Ask Luther, Tyndale, J. Hudson Taylor, Livingstone, and a host of others if they had a dull existence.  To live for Christ is to be a warrior, courageous and constant in battle and in daily life.  Dull–far from it.
     Know this, we have a good and generous Father.  Matthew relates, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (7:11, NKJV)  Do you enjoy watching your children unwrap their presents at Christmas or birthday time?  One of the best presents are those you give unexpectedly.  Our heavenly Father delights in caring for His children and enjoys giving them blessings.  On top of that He loves to watch us as we enjoy and use those blessings.
     Alistair Begg writes, “The Christian standard is not one of austerity or asceticism, nor consumption or consumerism.  No, we are guided by God’s word to set our hopes on God and to enjoy all He gives us as good gifts from Him.  This approach to life leads us to a wellspring of unending joy.”  We don’t have to keep up with the Joneses for we are really ahead of them.  We have a good and gracious Father who sees to our needs.  We don’t have to have the best car or the newest phone to have happiness.  No, we “have found His grace is all complete, He supplieth every need…” (B.E. Warren)  
     Perhaps we may have to forgo certain creature comforts in this life, and we should step away from worldly pleasures, but know this–untold riches await us in glory.  Never “believe the lie that life following Jesus gives you less than you would otherwise have enjoyed.” (Begg)  Now this day, and all days that we follow Jesus we have “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (Warren)  So expect those wonderful gifts from the Father.  Remember, you are His child.  Walk in obedience, hold His hand, and live expectantly and triumphantly in His grace knowing that He cares for you.  Oh, the words of that hymn by W.C. Martin are indeed real, “The half cannot be fancied, this side the golden shore; O there He’ll be still sweeter than He ever was before.”

                    –Micah 6:8 (ESV)
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People live a temporary life, wanting temporary goods, and seeking temporary wealth and fame.  Bob Beasley writes, “As temporal wealth increases, so does our desire for more.  Likewise, a rich person’s worry increases as he fears losing what he has.  And happiness?  At best, the happiness that money might bring is fickle and fleeting.  Money, when set up as an idol, cannot deliver what it promises.  Only God and the wealth of His wisdom can truly satisfy and fill all our needs.”  This morning we contemplate more of Proverbs 8.

           18 — Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness.
           19 — My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver.
           20 — I traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice.
           21 — That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.  (NKJV)

     What is the true wealth that is better than silver and gold?  It starts by walking in the way of righteousness and the paths of justice.  James says, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” (3:17, NKJV)  We see then that the wealth that God brings, the kind of wealth that satisfies and brings contentment is:  joy (Ps 21:6), peace (Phil 4:7), patience (Jam 1:2-3), kindness (Col 3:13), goodness (Pr 2:9), faithfulness (3 Jn 3), gentleness (1 Thess 2:7), self-control (1 Cor 7:5), and love (1 Cor 13).  See the picture?  True wealth then is the character of an individual exemplified by the Fruit of the Spirit.
     The Spirit does not give gold or silver; He does not trade in stocks and bonds, but leads in righteousness; a life of true contentment, “where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19, ESV)  God gives “lasting riches of righteousness…noting that moral wealth is always superior to material wealth.” (Flores)  People who seek the wealth that the world offers find that it is not only temporary and fleeting, but illusionary as well.  Spurgeon said that these people walk in “unreality.”  “They walk as if the mocking images were substantial, like travelers in a mirage, soon to be filled with disappointment and despair.”  They dream about being satisfied while they are morally asleep. (Flores)
     Those who walk in righteousness find that special bond with Christ; they are “united to Him by strong and indissoluble ties.” (Edward Payson)  There is a similar character that brings closer affection.  When the Father sees the image of His Son in His children it pleases Him.  Jerome said that most “rich men” are either themselves bad men or are heirs of those that have been bad.  But those who follow the way of righteousness and the path of justice are walking with the Lord Himself.
     We need to remember where our treasure is and keep our focus on Jesus Christ, following the way of righteousness and justice.  Even if “man should gain the whole world, his appetite would not be perceptibly diminished, the void would be as great and the craving as keen as ever.” (William Arnot)  They are like the seagulls of “Finding Nemo” squawking, “More!  More!  More!”  Instead we are to, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33, NLT)  I like the way the CEV translates this, “But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.”  J.B. Phillips puts it this way, “Set your heart on the kingdom and his goodness, and all these things will come to you as a matter of course.”  Get the picture?  When something is the desire of our heart, it will possess us totally; therefore, following righteousness and justice for a good sense of values is worth more than all the money in the world.  Love life and enjoy it every day by following the way of the Spirit.