Third Sunday of Advent

Is. 35:1-10

"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad..."

The wilderness is untamed and path-less. It is a dry arid place where you truly experience thirst and a feeling of lostness. 

The wilderness causes us to come face to face with our true condition. We must spend time in the wilderness in order to truly know our desperate need of God. 

This world that we live in does not let us really get to the wilderness. This world provides all kinds of distractions and pleasures in order to keep us from the wilderness experience. 

If you have had a kind of wilderness experience then you will recognize when the gladness of the blossom comes. You will never know the fulfillment of a cool drink of water unless you have been really thirsty. 

Does your soul long for God as in a dry and weary land? Or are you satisfied with business as usual? Do you get your needs met by the things of this world, entertainment, sports, work, money, sex, shopping for something new, food...? Or, do these things hold no attraction for you? 

We find the joy of The Lord at the end of these things, the problem is that there seems to be no end to these things. There is always an abundance of pleasures and diversions offered by this wold. Therefore we need to be intentional about finding wilderness experience in our everyday lives. We must seek out places in our lives where there is nothing but God... How? 

Silence

Solitude

Fasting

Prayer

James tells us to "purify your hearts... Turn your joy into mourning..." 

Some experience the wilderness through loss. Many have lost jobs and loved ones. It is in these times that we are faced with a choice: we can see these as opportunities to experience God in the desert or we can turn to the countless solutions that the world offers. The choice is yours.