What do you picture when you hear the word wilderness? I don’t think I had ever really tried to come up with a picture in my mind until I found myself smack dab in the middle of one.
I’m leaading a study tour to Israel in January and because of the time of year and threat of flash floods in this area that can be deadly, we won’t get to hike in the Wilderness of Zin. So I wanted to take some time to tell you the story of when I hiked it my first trip to Israel, some 13 years ago.
Below you will find a picture of the Wilderness of Zin. It’s not my picture. I hope you can get a feel for the vast desert that surrounds you as you stand in this place. On my first trip to Israel, every day, we would jump off the bus wherever it stopped and just follow our guide. We never really knew where we were or what we would see. If I remember correctly, we had been hiking in this area of Israel the day before and so walking or hiking in these conditions or surroundings wasn’t totally of-setting.
This hike started much different though. We were used to being dropped off at the base of a mountain and almost running up the side of it, trying to keep up with our guide. But as we exited the bus on this day, we found ourselves looking out on a scene much like this one. We were already at the top and our guide took off down into the valley.
I had gotten rather comfortable, I thought, with not knowing where we were going, not knowing how we’d get there or how long it would take. Every stop we had made so far, I never knew what lay ahead but after a climb and a lesson, we would turn around and the bus would be right there, waiting for us. I didn’t need to know the plan because someone did, and he was leading. Well, this hike didn’t quite fit my expectations.
At first, as we made our descent, we could see for miles around and everyone was walking together and talking, enjoying the company and looking forward to what the Lord had in store for the day. We had probably walked for about an hour or so and we were really in the thick of it. We had made our way into the deep wadi’s that were carved by rain water during the rainy season. We were surrounded by very tall walls of sand. It’s funny how losing the ability to see the vast desert that surrounded us could make you feel more lost. We stopped at some point the gather the group and talk through a biblical story but then we were off again. We had easily walked another hour and it was warming up as the day continued. We were getting hot, thirsty and tired. I was starting to look for the end.
But the end was no where in sight.
We were still surrounded by huge sand dunes and just kept walking. I could feel the grumbling rising up in my brain. Lots of questions started creeping in. “Are we there yet?” “How much longer?” “Why are we doing this?” “What is going on?”
Another hour past trapped in this oven of a desert as we continued to walk on and on. We stopped to rest for a minute and our guide went off with some other people in charge and climbed up a hill to look around. They were gone for a little while and then came back and told us to pack up because we were headed off. At this point, I was done. I could feel the anger seeping into my heart with every step. I remember thinking, “Brian, if you do not get us out of here, I’m not sure what I will do to you!”
About 1 millisecond after this thought, I felt the Lord catch my attention. He gently reminded me that I had only been out here in this desert for about 3 1/2 hours.
When you are actually in the land, it’s easier to feel connected to the stories of the Bible that you may have read a hundred different times. This was the case for me that day. You see, I had read through the Old Testament many times and was very familiar with the Israelites and their wonderings through the desert. My problem was, that I had been pretty self-righteous in my assessment of how grumbly they were and quickly they forgot about everything God had done for them. Just reading through the stories, I was always surprised how God would do some huge miracle and then within what seemed like a short amount of time, they were doubting and complaining again. I had actually thought that if I had seen God part the Red Sea and provide manna and water from a rock, etc etc, then I would never be mad and angry with Moses as he was leading us to the Promised Land.
Now I guess you could argue that I have never seen with my own eyes the miracles that those Israelis saw. I’ve never seen an ocean split down the middle and create a dry path to walk on along the sea floor. I’ve never gone out into the desert and found something to eat. But I was giving these people a hard time because they were growing weary after years of walking through the dry desert wasteland with no end in sight and no idea where they were going, and I couldn’t even make it four hours.
I learned right there that no matter what someone’s decisions might be, there will never be any room for me to judge them, because I haven’t walked through their entire life leading up to that moment. I can’t know for sure that I would make any different choice than anyone else because I haven’t lived what they lived and felt what they felt. All I can do is love them, show empathy and genuine care. Offer the abundance of grace that I have been shown in my life from the one person who has every right to judge me and died for me instead.
This is just one tiny glimpse into everything I learned and experienced on my initial trip to Israel. It was one whisper of the many things the Lord taught me about myself and revealed to me about Him.
Like I’ve said, I’m going to be leading a trip this coming January. We won’t be hiking as much as I did all those years ago but will have the opportunity to see and hear and learn from the Lord as we walk the land where so many of the Biblical texts take place. I would love for you to join me!
This isn’t a vacation exactly, and it’s not a sight seeing trip. It is more of a 9 day, in-depth bible study where you learn with your whole body. All of the information is found here https://gtitours.org/trip/97621601-9007-4e2a-a0e8-27846cd13f56.
If this is something you are interested in, do whatever you can to get there at some point in your life! It’s worth every bit of sacrifice!!
Your Fellow Traveler
Lacey
Find True Joy 