Surviving the Wilderness

When I was a teenager, I was involved in a scouting program that my denomination has. One of the merits that we had to earn was the Survival badge. There were several things we had to do to get it. The last thing we had to do was to go on a survival camp out. My commander Jamie took a group of us about 45 minutes away, explained to us that we had been in an airplane crash, what the rules were and that he’d be back the next day when we gave the distress signal.

When he left, I became the oldest person in the group of teenagers. We were out in the wilderness alone. Later I would find out that Jamie wasn’t too far off. He wasn’t just going to leave a bunch of boys out in the wilderness by themselves! Thinking we were alone until morning, I got to work. I knew that we only had a certain amount of daylight left. I built a shelter, gathered wood, started a fire, pulled some string and stink bait from my survival kit, made a hook out of wood and set a line in a pond nearby.

Jamie did what God does when we are in the wilderness of life. He prepared us for what was coming. He gave us the tools we needed to be successful in a time of survival. He taught us how to trap food in the wild, clean it, cook it and how to build a shelter. God prepares us as well. When you are in the wilderness, survival is key. You need to eat spiritually. Get into God’s Word and hear His voice through scripture. Surround yourself with others who can help you survive. They will be your shelter.

The next thing Jamie did was to take us to the wilderness to test us and to show we learned what he had taught us. God allows us time in the wilderness to put into action what we have learned. In Matthew 4:1, the Bible says that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, tested and tried. God knows that when you put into practice the knowledge you have been given, it becomes skill. In those times, God proves to you that you can survive with Him.

While we were in the wilderness of East Texas, we felt alone out there. That’s true of us when we go through things in life. It can seem like God is no where near us and that we are left to survive without Him. That’s not the case though. Just like Jamie was for us, God is near by and is watching you, keeping you safe and making sure you are taken care of. It may not feel like it, but He is there. He sees you, He’s prepared you and now He’s watching over you.

The last thing Jamie said before he left was that when we had survived the night, we needed to send up a distress signal and he would come for us. God knows you can survive the night in the wilderness and is waiting for you to signal Him to come rescue you. In Psalm 91:14,15 the Lord says, “When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them.” He made that promise to you.

If you are in the wilderness today and are trying to survive, know that God has given you what you need to survive. He has given you shelter (Psalm 91:1). He has given you the tools to survive (Psalm 119:105). He is right there with you. He will not leave you nor forsake (abandon) you (Hebrews 13:5). When you have survived the night with His help, He will come to you and minister to you. You are not alone. You can and will survive this.