i am mindful that every one of us journeys through two types of wildernesses in our lives. One of those is a once in a lifetime journey. It will last as long as we choose. It can even last a lifetime. It is a wilderness journey that has repercussions that extend far beyond our lifetime and far beyond our own life. We weren’t created for that journey. Our Creator never intended for us to walk through it. He didn’t equip us to walk thru it. But He has made a way for us to emerge from it.

The second type of wilderness journey can also last a lifetime, but most often it lasts for a season….

Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me”(Luke 9:23). i am certain i had heard that verse many times before, but the first time i remember hearing it was February 21, 1991. i was enjoying my life. i had a wonderful wife, a delightful son and daughter (3 and 1½), and a successful career. Though at 36 i had not yet reached the pinnacle of my career, i was climbing the ladder and everything was good.

A few weeks earlier, the woman that God had given me turned to me and said, “a Bible Study is starting that I would like to attend, and I want us to do it together.” i can honestly tell you that was the last thing i wanted to do, but as LaVonne flashed those baby-browns at me, i couldn’t come up with a good enough reason quickly enough. So, on that Thursday night, i found myself sitting beside my wife in a couple’s living room with 16 other people – feeling somewhat trapped….

Several years ago, while visiting a university in the Middle East, i wandered into an archaeological museum on the campus. As i walked through the gift shop in the museum, my eye caught a glimpse of a replica of a terra cotta mask used by the ancient Phoenicians in the 4thcentury BC. There were holes in the mask that enabled me to see out as i picked it up and held it over my face. But beyond that, as i looked at my image reflected in a nearby mirror, my eyes were drawn to the pronounced grin that had been permanently molded into the mask. Seeing that the sales clerk was keeping a watchful eye on me, i asked her to tell me the story behind the mask.

She explained that the Phoenicians sacrificed children to their pagan god, Baal-hamon. It was considered to be a high honor to the family for a child to be chosen to be sacrificed…

i regret that this account, like many others (due to space limitation), didn’t make it into Walking With The Master. But, praise God, it did make it… into the Gospels. And i think it is an important reminder for us today.

There was a woman who had “suffered much…. She had spent all that she had, and was no better, but rather, grew worse” (Mark 5:25-34). She had nowhere else to turn. No one had been able to solve her problem. Everything she had attempted had been unfruitful. As a matter of fact, much of what the physicians had tried had only made her worse. There was no cure for her problem. The medical community had failed her. The religious community had rejected her (due to her “uncleanness”). Her friends had abandoned her. We can only imagine the pain and isolation she felt. After twelve years, her only remaining companions were her pain and her desperation. That adds up to almost 4400 days of dashed hopes and discourage-filled nights.  She was bankrupt financially, physically and emotionally. Most of all, she was bankrupt of hope – save one glimmer.

Somewhere she had heard about Jesus…