Have you ever spent time in the wilderness? Have you been in a desolate and isolated place where everything seems to be dry and barren—a place where there is no life? The wilderness is a hard, solitary place. But it is a place where we can always find God.
In Hosea 2:14, we see that the LORD is with Israel in the wilderness: “𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧.” What I find fascinating is that the LORD Himself brought Israel into the wilderness so He could speak comfort to her. Perhaps the LORD knew that such a stubborn nation would only listen to Him in isolation!
The Hebrew word for comfort comes from the root word ‘𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗯,’ which means “𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵!” This is not a consoling pat on the back with a couple of encouraging words. It is so much more! Our Father wants to speak right into your inner man, into your heart, and equip you for adventures to come.
‘𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗯’ also means “𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.” Your LORD and King desires to enchant and delight your heart because of His overwhelming love for you. He has drawn you away into the wilderness, to a secret place where no one can disturb you, and is speaking right into your innermost being.
If you are in the wilderness, seek the LORD with all your heart and you will find Him. Allow Him to speak to your heart and encourage you with His magnificent love.
Claire's Prayer 