This past week I needed to pick up some staples (you know, important and consumable things like cat litter!). I was about to head off the store when I realized that I didn’t have my mask (yes, I’m being careful to use a mask and wear gloves when I go to the store), so I had to adjust my schedule to pick the items up another day. It got me to thinking about how accustom I’ve become to getting what I need (or want) pretty much whenever it suits me. Now, in trying to be wise and kind to others (by not contributing to the spread of COVID-19) the ease is gone, and I’ve chosen to go without some comforts. I was reminded of how many times I’ve heard people say, “when this is all over, I’d like to…”
Privation, or being deprived of something, is part of the wilderness experience. “Turn these stones into bread.” Satan said to Jesus. “Cucumbers and melons,” the Israelites said when thinking back to Egypt. When something we’ve become accustomed to is no longer, we experience being deprived. And there is a spiritual dimension to this experience. The process goes something like this: first we become aware of the absence; this leads us to desiring the thing that is absent (let’s call this longing); the longing can become incessant as we reflect on it (let’s call this craving); cravings are an object of focus and usually what we focus on become something we pursue (an objective).
What we might find (like Israel found before us) is that when deprived of something we enjoy, or come to depend on, it can reveal just how deeply we have treasured it. For Israel, the wilderness demonstrated how much they desired comfort (familiar food), how much they desired security (“did you bring us out here to die?”), and how much they desired their own way (“why do you exalt yourselves over us?”). Does that sound a bit familiar? Compare Jesus’ response (which he quotes from Moses), we “shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” When faced with privation, Jesus turns his attention to God. His statement is full of theological implications, but for our purposes he invites us to turn to God for our “fullness.”
There is nothing wrong with missing something good and valuable. Perhaps the lesson for us in this “wilderness” season is to examine our hearts when we miss something and ask if it has become too valuable to us. All these moments of longing can offer us an opportunity to turn our hearts toward our Heavenly Father, as Jesus did, to delight in Him more deeply.
Pursue Christ – He is enough,
Pastor Jeff