Going from the familiar wilderness to the fresh unknown

You know it’s not always comfortable when we find ourselves in a new place. This holds true for our spiritual life, too! We say we want a breakthrough, and we begin praying for it, but then when we are provided the way out of the wilderness, we panic.

We are funny creatures. It makes me wonder how often God gives me a little headshake.

This is human nature. It is the paradox that we always talk about. We beg God to bring us into freedom, and then there we are, trying to white-knuckle the familiar. Why do we do this? We do this because the wilderness has become our familiar space. Even though it was hard, it was predictable. And because we are humans, our minds prefer predictable pain over unknown peace.

There is a reason that country songs often talk about people going back to the places that once hurt them. The devil you knew feels safer than the angel that is standing next to you. We can see the beauty of the backroads, but we still have a tight grip on the wheel because we aren’t familiar with this road we are now traveling.

Our minds have been wired to see anything unknown as dangerous… you know “stranger danger” and such. Not that we shouldn’t be aware of our surroundings… but spiritually, we get so entangled in the physical protection that we are not happy traveling a backroad that God has chosen for us. Here’s the thing though… God knows what we are leaving behind and He knows that our heart has a hard time letting go of what is familiar. That doesn’t stop Him from leading us in the new things and into new places. Friend, this journey started way before there was ever a comfort with the wilderness.

Friend, I get it. I know what it’s like to want peace and safety, but be afraid of the quietness of the unknown.

We don’t know how to navigate the subtlety of being still with Jesus because we haven’t allowed ourselves to go there. At least I didn’t. I was trying to get out of the wilderness on my own. So when I did step out of that hard and dark place, I was startled by how quiet it was.

The other aspect of this is that we often see new places as dangerous because we don’t know what to expect. We don’t want to be in a place where we have no control. When we were in the wilderness, we cultivated skills to help us navigate the challenging moments. We learned how to survive. Now, as we step into this new place, we are expected to trust that it is good.

I mean, we did ask God to get us out of the wilderness, right? So why would He deliver us from the chaos only to place us in turmoil? That doesn’t line up with His promises. But how do we get to a place of peaceful trust?

2 Corinthians 5:7 is a simple instruction but it is one that is difficult for us as humans. Walking by what we believe in (God) and not by what we see (the world and our ability) tends to get us in a twisted mess. We find that we were excited to get into a new and peaceful place but this stillness with Jesus is sometimes deafening and uncomfortable. And …. we do not like it. We as human beings, do not like being in a strange place. The skills of the wilderness do not apply in this new place. We once had to defend ourselves, trust our instincts, and navigate dark pathways.

Now that we don’t need those skills, are we valuable? Are we able to do anything? Are we still who we were? These questions are the basis of the fear of being in a place of surrender and stillness. A place where we trust God to provide, protect, and direct.

Then we have to deal with the question: what if we fail? How many times have you thought that you would fail at making it out of the wilderness? It’s not easy to sustain peace in a mixed-up, chaotic world. We have no clue how to navigate these new roads because we have never traveled them. They are slow and meaningful. They have a destination and a purpose, just like the busy highways, but they are intentional about being beautiful and serene.

How are we suppose to learn how to navigate these roads at a slower speed? If we slow down will we be left behind in the grand scheme of things? Everyone driving the freeways are getting to their destination a lot faster than we are. It seems to take them 1/2 the time to get from their point A to B. Yet, here we are meandering through the countryside voicing the “ooohs” and “aahhhs” of the scenery that we don’t see on the busy freeways.

Sometimes the backroads are so serene that I don’t even know if I am worthy of navigating them. At first, I questioned whether I was worthy of this slower, better life. I mean, after all, I had made a mess before and got myself pulled over in the wilderness. Just one wrong turn and there I was, headed the wrong way on a one-way street. That will surely brighten your day.

The wilderness was where I learned to be okay with the toxic behavior of other people. I had grown used to being the one who didn’t quite fit in with those around me. It wasn’t hard to see that I was not like the others.

But it’s the truth, I was different. Regardless of where any of us are or what our family looks like, we are all created differently. The great thing is that our differences don’t negate the fact that we are equal. God is not going to love one more than the other. We may have different gifts and talents, but we are each important in that calling.

But when you live a life where differences are pushed at you and even used to make you feel inadequate, you don’t realize that you are just as valuable as anyone else who walks this world.

You know what? The Israelites felt the same way. They actually told Moses they’d rather go back to slavery than face the unknown wilderness.

Exodus 14:11-12 ESV

They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

So here we are, out of the wilderness, and we are working toward making peace with the peace… but we still feel a bit anxious. We can see the chaos behind us in the rearview mirror, but we are unsure of the tunnel that leads us out into the peace. It’s a strange thing to be excited about a new place, and at the same time, we are concerned with what may happen next. After living a hard life for so long, we aren’t sure how to navigate the slower backroads.

It’s almost as if we are waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop. We have had such a hard time in the wilderness that we are expecting something hard and horrible must be around the corner.

Sweet Friend, God is not a God who will prepare us for years only to lead us to a place that we are unable to navigate. He will always go before us to be sure that we are going to get where we need to be. He’s not requiring that we be the bravest warrior. And He certainly doesn’t desire to see us on the journey scared and hidden from His goodness. He is asking us to trust the journey and allow Him to be the compass — the GPS.

God isn’t going to spring anything on us and whatever we face, He’s already prepared us to handle it. He went before the Israelites as a pillar of cloud in the day and one of fire at night. He will do no less for us. He isn’t asking us to be brave — He is asking us to just follow His direction. He redefines scary as sacred because the fear we have is evidence that we are on sacred ground with Him.

Highways are fast and crowded. They are predictable, but they are dangerous. The backroads are serene and calm. They are unfamiliar because we don’t know the quietness.

When we see the first few exits, we are still unsure because we don’t understand how to move at a slower pace. It’s like jet-lag. After traveling so fast our body has to get accustomed to moving at its regular pace. It is the same for the backroads. Once we get acquainted with the speed, we are able to enjoy the journey. We can trust that God will be exactly where we need Him to be when we need Him to be there.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

Friend, He’s with you on these new backroads. He’s already gone before you, and He’s right there beside you now. The unfamiliar doesn’t have to be frightening when you’re traveling with the One who knows every curve ahead.

Journey question for the week:

What if God is inviting you to something so good that your past experience has no category for it?