In Days Like These, How Do You Really Follow Jesus?

If there is one thing that continues to surprise me as I follow Jesus, it’s the difficulty of the journey, the unexpected delays, the detours, the disappointments, and the waiting. Despite what I know about God, I still catch myself taken aback by the amount of suffering endured in the pursuit of one’s calling. It is my hope that Lina AbuJamra‘s new book will inspire hope in your heart as you continue to follow Jesus even when it hurts. It’a a joy to welcome Lina to the farm’s table today…

Guest Post by Lina AbuJamra

“Every single person who has been greatly used by God has had to go through the wilderness.“

If you’ve responded to God’s call in your life, chances are you’re either in the wilderness, are headed to the wilderness, or have just come out of the of wilderness.

Throughout the pages of Scripture, you will find that the most popular place to learn God’s ways is smack in the middle of the wilderness. Every single person who has been greatly used by God has had to go through the wilderness.

“The lesson is obvious: when there’s no one around to impress, the Lord will impress your heart with His presence.“

Take David for example. Shortly after he was anointed by Samuel to be the king of Israel, he miraculously killed Goliath. Everybody loved David for a while. He was young and handsome and on a winning streak that was sure to get him the Heisman. Even King Saul became enamored with David. 

It didn’t take long for the tide to turn for David, as the next ten years would show. David spent those years running away from Saul, hiding in a cave of the greatest wilderness of his life.

How could a guy who was so obviously called by God end up hiding for his life? For a while, David was as alone as one could get. 

It is out of this loneliness that emerged one of the strongest kings of all times. David would become known as a man after God’s own heart. He emerged as a man committed to the Lord and strong in His might. David’s time in the wilderness yielded a man now free to rule a nation.

“It is when others become shadows allowing God’s presence to settle over you that you will finally understand that without Christ you can do nothing, be nothing, and accomplish nothing. “

The lesson is obvious: when there’s no one around to impress, the Lord will impress your heart with His presence.

David is not the only follower of God who found himself in the wilderness. All the way from Abraham, to Moses, to the great prophet Elijah, the wilderness is a familiar place for the one whom God has called.

The New Testament is also filled with examples of Christ’s followers who learned to be alone with the Lord. There’s Paul, who went alone to the desert for three years before God launched him into ministry. Peter often found himself alone on a rooftop or in a prison cell. And John, the beloved disciple, wrote some of his best books exiled on an island. 

It is when surrounded by the deafening silence that the soul quiets enough to hear God speak. It is when others become shadows allowing God’s presence to settle over you that you will finally understand that without Christ you can do nothing, be nothing, and accomplish nothing. 

Do you know the wilderness of loneliness? Are you in it now?

I am quite familiar with being alone. I have lived alone for over twenty years now. To be honest with you, I like it that way. It’s peaceful and allows me the freedom to write. But the wilderness of loneliness that I’m referring to is not one you seek by choice.

I’m talking about a wilderness that can hit you in the midst of a crowded room or when you’re wide awake at three in the morning. You suddenly feel an ache that you don’t quite recognize. You long for something, for someone. 

You almost feel afraid. 

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope” Hos. 2:14-15

My initial instinct is to misunderstand that kind of loneliness. I resent it. I hate it. I long to escape it. I am tempted to check my email or Facebook. I turn on the television and strain for the noise of human voices. I yearn to fill the gaping hole of my heart.

It catches me by surprise, this aching loneliness. It’s like an uninvited guest that I can’t quite bid farewell; it hovers over me. I close my eyes in the hope that sleep will erase it, but I wake up and it’s still there. I find it my constant companion.

Are you familiar with this kind of wilderness? It may be a wilderness that comes from the rejection of those by whom you long to be accepted. It may be a wilderness that comes from seeing people as they really are, sinners in need of grace. It may even be a wilderness that comes from being forgotten by others. 

It is precisely in this wilderness that God waits to step in and fill your deepest longings. Can you hear in your wilderness the loving voice of One calling out your name? 

Few verses have ministered to me like the words of the prophet Hosea: “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope” (Hos. 2:14–15).

God tenderly calls out to you in the wilderness. The problem is that most of us are not trained to hear His voice. Even worse, most of us resist hearing His voice, longing for something else to fill us. We have replaced the knowledge of God with the worship of people.

From the chapter “People Pleasing”

Lina AbuJamra is a Pediatric ER doctor, now practicing telemedicine, and founder of Living With Power Ministries. Her vision is to bring hope to the world by connecting biblical answers to everyday life. A popular Bible teacher, podcaster, and conference speaker, she is the author of several books including her most recent ones, Still Standing and Don’t Tell Anyone You’re Reading This, and her Bible Study series Mapping the Footsteps of God. In her “spare” time, she provides medical care and humanitarian help in disaster areas and to refugees in Lebanon. Learn more about her at LivingWithPower.org.

Still Standing shares the amazing and beautiful reality that we can have joy and confidence amidst life’s most difficult circumstances. Without denying the real pain many of us carry, Still Standing shows how God’s presence is promised in every valley, trial, and tribulation and that following Jesus is not only possible but the only way to happiness even when it hurts.

{Our humble thanks to Moody Publishers for their partnership in today’s devotional.}