Throughout scripture, the physical wilderness served a multitude of purposes, all of which were meant to grow, develop and prepare God’s people in a spiritual sense to receive His blessings in all their richness. Deuteronomy 8:2 describes it this way:
"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness...to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commands." (NIV)
In other words, the wilderness served to make His people more aware of their need for Him, to cause them to look deeper at themselves and what was in their hearts, to grow them in Christ-likeness, and to see if they learned to better hear His voice and act on what they heard.
In Lost Without You, Joe, Oliver, Shane, and Norman are confronted with wildernesses over the course of 8 days, the number associated with new beginnings. Joe, Oliver and Shane struggled in some way to connect with God due to unbelief, skepticism or practicality, and, confronted with life or death circumstances, entered into spaces where they were “humble[d] and test[ed]... in order to know what was in [their] heart[s],” re-discovering God in the process. At the same time, Norman, with Rita by his side, ventured into uncharted territory on a divinely-inspired quest to be more bold, where God would both test Norman and cause him to thrive as a result of his obedience. All of their journeys intersect on El Dorado Canyon, whose very name translates to “gold,” the purity of which is often proven through intense trial. |
This week we’ll be taking a look at their unique journeys, and how God was invited into each story as a function of how each individual responded to the challenges they faced, and even in the challenges they personally issued. In a place that would naturally seem to signal the absence of God, the POstables discovered first hand that the wilderness is, in fact, where He is the most within their grasp, meeting Joe, Oliver, Shane and Norman where they were to bring them into new beginnings.
Setting Up Camp,
~C
Wilderness Series: Introduction | Joe | Oliver | Shane | Norman | Prologue