Into the Wilderness, pt. 2—It’s Over! Now What?

Exodus 2:11-15 NLT
Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching; Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand. The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. “Why are you beating up your friend?” Moses said to the one who had started the fight. The man replied, “Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking, “Everyone knows what I did.” And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian. When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well.

Lessons From the Wilderness— 

1. The wilderness season is not a in our journey, it is God’s for our growth and discovery.

2. The wilderness is where we need to to find out who we are meant to .

All that is gold does not glitter.
Not all who wander are lost.
The old that is strong does not wither.
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
—Gandalf

3. Our setbacks are a for a .

4. My perceived is God’s place of .

“The wilderness is the context in which we learn to trust God in new ways.”  —Ruth Haley Barton

Question for reflection: What is Jesus inviting me to let go of through my most recent setback?

Exodus 3:1-5 NLT
One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” When the Lord saw Moses turn aside to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied.  “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.

5. The Wilderness is not a place to , but a place to turn .

Exodus 3:6-10 NLT
I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

6. When we God in the Wilderness we our true self in Him.

What stands in the way of our true self?

1. “Who Am I?” – 2. “What if They?” – 3. “I have Never.” 4. “Use Someone Else.”

“A leader is a person who must take special responsibility for what’s going on inside him-or herself, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.” —Parker Palmer

How to “Turn Aside”—

1. Embrace .
   
   
   
2. Find God Is.
   
   
   
3. Receive God’s over your Fear and .
   
   
   

Personal Challenge:
Identify one lesson your wilderness is teaching you and one step you can take in response.

Community Challenge:
Imagine a community where our wildernesses are embraced as a part of the human experience and our collective story. A place where vulnerability is not a weakness but a bridge to deeper relationships, understanding and growth.

Answer Key: pause, container, be, become, setup, comeback, punishment, preparation, hide, aside, encounter, discover, Insecurity, fear, inadequacy, reluctance, solitude, where, truth, shame