We were the spiritual walking-wounded, but we had found a safe place online to be honest. Listening to their stories taught me this: wilderness times feel like a punishment of exclusion but often they are an act of God’s mercy. The places they had left were so hostile it was better to be out from them.
This has a biblical precedent. When the Israelites first came to Egypt with Joseph, it was a land of blessing, but over time it had transformed into a land of slavery. Though they were chased into the wilderness by angry Egyptians, ultimately it was God who had called them temporarily into a deserted land where they were free, and then onto a new home.
I started to wonder: can we reframe our experiences in the wilderness? Rather than being a curse, what if spiritual wilderness is a strange blessing?
I’m excited to be writing my debut post for Off the Page. Already it’s been shared hundreds of times on Facebook, and it seems to be hitting a nerve. Won’t you come with me and read the rest?
I read this post a night ago and left a message from the heart….and then I hit save and I got an error message :\ …and just like that it was gone…I was so sad. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get that message back the way it was…It was perfect. Up until the point of reading it I was suffering daily with the effects of Being Shunned and blacklisted at church. Its been 9 years and Im still suffering with Isolation, depression, Doubt, Anxiety, FEAR and Agonizing Grief and LOSS. I blamed myself for so long…
This post is a life saver for me…I once was lost and now Im found. I am in the Wilderness, a Full Fledged Wilderness Woman. Alone except The Lord and his Angels.
About a year or so ago I was trying out a new church…and I heard a message that I had not expected from God…the Message was “Sometimes Man’s Rejection is God’s Protection” I thought about it and realized that is exactly how I felt and vice versa…Sometimes God’s Protection is Man’s Rejection. Either way you look at it!! Unfortunately I have not been able to worship God in Community. Church has become a trigger of excruciating memories of being the UNLOVED.
Im not sure but I actually feel it might have been more of a protection than a rejection. I loved my church it is where I met the Lord. But it was not a good place for me. I still struggle with this daily and find myself back in a cycle of blame.
But thanks to this post Tanya you have given me faith in dark places. I don’t have to be afraid of wandering alone. God is still with me. Even though Im still alone and afraid, I don’t have to feel guilty anymore.
Thank you for your Love for Our Father he has truly made you a messenger of those who suffer.
Tara
Congratulations! I love Off the Page, and enjoyed your article!