Worship In The Wilderness

Worship In The Wilderness

Our Church has begun a study of Mark, and today’s message was about John the Baptist. Something leaped out at me that I hadn’t really spent much time considering before – John was in the wilderness, and that’s where Jesus met him.

Jesus meets us where we are. He doesn’t wait until we pass the finish line. He doesn’t wait until we are safe, clean, perfect, or prominent. Jesus meets us in the wildernesses of our lives. He doesn’t require us to come to him in church to pray or praise Him.  We can worship in the wilderness. In fact, that’s when it’s most important.

The Power Of Praise

Sitting amongst the brambles, thorns, and poison ivy doesn’t seem like the place where I’d be excited to break out in songs of worship – yet that’s when we need it most. I was thinking about this a few days ago, remembering dropping off my brother somewhere with my mom. We were terribly sad about leaving him, and so we began singing through our tears.

 “I will sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously, the horse and rider thrown into the sea. I will sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously, the horse and rider thrown into the sea. The Lord is God and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is God and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him!” 

The song lifted our spirits and served as a reminder for me to praise Him in the wilderness. I’m not sure why I was reminded of that memory a few days ago. Maybe it’s because of my current wilderness. But it reminded me to continue to praise Him! Then, this morning, I was reminded again that God meets us in our wilderness. That’s the power of praise. Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praises of His people. So He is wherever our praises are. How comforting is that!?

The Receipts

The Israelites, when they were in Egypt; Moses, when he was called to lead them; Daniel; Esther; the woman with the issue of blood, the paralytic; the blind man; the tax collector; you and me – God meets us all when we need Him most. The Bible is full of the receipts.  Jesus didn’t just go to the wilderness for John – He went for all of us. He didn’t get baptized to be cleansed – He came to cleanse the water and the way for us. He isn’t waiting for us to get right, get clean, or be perfect – He is just waiting for us to come.