First Thought

וְהֽוּא־הָלַ֤ךְ בַּמִּדְבָּר֙ דֶּ֣רֶךְ י֔וֹם

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness . . . (1 Kings 19:4)

As we begin a long stretch in Hebrew Verbs, at times, you may feel as exhausted, dry, and isolated as if you were Elijah (the subject of 1 Kings 19:4) driven into the wilderness.

In these times, we must depend on God to sustain us. It is times like these where God can pour into us and prepare us for our next adventure. Moses, Elijah, John the Immerser, and several others all had their time in the Wilderness that God used to mold them as servant-leaders. Of course, we can point to Yeshua himself and his time in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry. Embrace the wilderness!

Figure 12.1: Acacia tree in Red Canyon. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands