“God put us here, on this carnival ride.
We close our eyes never knowing where it’ll take us next.”
Carrie Underwood
Goliath almost took me out! Goliath is the name of a roller coaster at an amusement park near where I live. I did not feel like David with a sling shot that day. Goliath has a 255 foot drop and goes 85 miles per hour on a closed circuit track. Towards the end of the ride, the roller coaster banks 180 degrees, then plummets into a 585 degree descending helix (which basically means you accelerate while going around in circles!) When the ride was over, I could barely walk and I nearly passed out. Goliath has a G-force of 4.5. G-force has the sensation of weight coming against you. A typical person can handle about 5 Gs before losing consciousness.
The Wilderness Journey can feel like a major roller coaster ride at times. We may rise to new heights and get all excited, only to realize we face a down hill slide where we must have to hold on for dear life. The pain can pull us into a G-force spin that we just do not have the strength to come out of. We can feel weak kneed and disoriented, but God is in it. God has strapped us in to this Wilderness coaster and is producing in us the strength to keep going no matter how much perceived weight is coming against us. When you feel the G-force of the situation, remember that you are only half way through the ride — you have not finished yet.
One time I was going through yet another bump in my journey and I told my friend Pam that I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride and I wanted off.
Her response — priceless.
I leave her quote with you today.
“You are already on the Wilderness ride! So you might as well stick your hands up in the air and yell ‘Woohoo’, buy the picture when it’s over, and get ready to go again. Otherwise it will be a long ride!”
“For it is God who works in you to will and to act
in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
Philippians 2:13 (NIV)
One fateful decision landed me smack in the middle of my own Wilderness…
Though I was obeying God’s voice, I spent the next several years “walking on water,” even though it felt more like I was treading water. A Journey Out of the Wilderness is for people going through a rough time—a Wilderness experience—where you feel as though you are “down for the count” and ready to give up. Wilderness Wanderers feel as though they are doing laps around the mountain, passing the same tree over and over again wondering, “Will this never end?” However, being in the Wilderness will be one of the most transformational times of your life.