Monday, September 23, 2013 - 5:55 pm

Yesterday, Pastor Kip spoke about finding hope in the wilderness. We may be wandering in a wilderness of discouragement and despair, but in the middle of that, God sees us, and He has a plan for us. He's not afraid of our mess, He doesn't run away when we're going through difficulties. Through the midst of that, God is writing His story of hope and redemption. We can't let our messy circumstances be an excuse to remain in the wilderness when God calls us out. The other thing is, let's not miss out on what God wants to accomplish through our wilderness experience. James 1:2 talks about trials being a joy for us. The story of Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis 16 and 21 shows how God was there with them, heard their cries and saw their situation. Not only does God see us, but we see Him most clearly when we're in the wilderness, as all the distractions are removed and we realize that He has been present all along, and that He is all we need. God will always be with us in the wilderness, and He will always grow us in the wilderness. God doesn't bring fairness to the situation, instead He brings us the grace to get through it.