Faith — The Shortcut - Friday
TODAY’S VERSE
Genesis 16:7
The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. (ESV)
It doesn't take much reading through the Scriptures to recognize that the “wilderness” is a consistent theme. Whether it’s Israel wandering through the wilderness in Exodus or Jesus’ entire ministry being preceded by a series of temptations in the wilderness, the wilderness is a major motif in the Bible.
The wilderness is when our faith gets truly tested. When the harvest is no longer plentiful, and the rains are no longer coming. But it’s also where God meets us. Where He reveals more of His character and His call upon our lives. The vital question is: Where do you hang out in the wilderness?
Hidden in verse 7 of Hagar’s story is an invitation for anyone who finds themself in the wilderness: stay close to water. If you find yourself surrounded by death, hold fast to life.
I recently read what is now one of my favorite ways to describe our role as Christians when it comes to resisting the brokenness of our world. Our call in resistance is not to incessantly focus on saying “no” to the evil around us, but rather to regularly say “yes” to the life in our midst. There are, of course, times when it is necessary for us to say “no” and call out evil for what it is. But if our efforts in doing so are not matched in our frequency of saying “yes” to what is good, then we will quickly fall victim to becoming tainted by the very evil we are trying to fight against.
If all we do in conversations and on social media is gripe and spew disgust towards the customs of this world, we should take a moment to look in a mirror and evaluate ourselves (Matthew 7:3-5). Because chances are we’re starting to become the very things we despise.
What if, instead of only attacking evil, we also championed life? What if we were to catch a mother at the store lovingly parenting her rowdy kids, and we simply interrupted her frenzy to say, “You’re doing a good job, I see you.” What if we wrote a letter of encouragement to a co-worker who is caring for an aging parent? What if we marveled at the created world around us and let our wonder roll off our lips? What if, and I know this is gonna sound crazy, we only shared positive things about others on social media?
You may be in a “wilderness” season, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t streams along the way. Stay close to the sources of life around you, because, as it turns out, the Giver of Life is there and He tends to meet His children there as well.
APPLICATION
Take some time to reflect on the “springs” around you currently. Are you staying close to them or wandering? What might it look like to cling to life in this season?
PRAYER
Father, thank You that no matter what season we find ourselves in, Your life is always in our midst. Help us to see where Your living water is flowing and give us the courage to stay close by.