Wilderness is a trustworthy counselor. If you visit her office, you’ll consistently get truth and grace. Some counselors err on the side of offering too much support and too little challenge. Other counselors go the other extreme. The wilderness has been a type of counselor throughout all of history that somehow knows how to strike the balance.

For sure, the elements and exposure seem too much to handle and we want to panic. Other times, the beauty and serenity almost whisk us away from worldly worries and concerns in a type of heaven-on-earth experience; resting in a meadow on a warm day or fishing in a cascading brook with clouds entertaining us above. But for those who will spend some consistent time in the wilderness they will find her to be a good and trustworthy counselor.

A TRUSTWORTHY COUNSELOR WILL HELP YOU REFLECT

Often people ask, when I spend time in the wilderness how do I make it more intentional? What do I do to make it more of a spiritual experience. Of course the answers will vary but one simple suggestion is just to immerse yourself in a passage of Scripture and see how your surroundings, attitudes, emotions, connect with what God is teaching you in Scripture.

For example, let’s take Matthew 6:19-21 where Jesus taught on laying up treasures in heaven. This is a great passage for wilderness reflection:Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:19-21

As you spend a day in the wild, you might want to consider two contrasting angles on this perspective. First, what are those things in your life that moth and rust will destroy? Second, what are those things in your life that are eternal that will last forever?

1 One of the almost guaranteed blessings of wilderness travel, even for just a day trip is that we realize how little we need to be happy.

This passage helped me grasp from these two categories, five basic areas to consider. What won’t last is the physical and the familiar. What will last for eternity are souls, service, and sacrifices. Lets consider each of these briefly:

2 THINGS THAT MOTH AND DUST WILL DESTROY1. PHYSICAL: WE LIVE IN A PHYSICAL WORLD, FILLED WITH MANY WONDERFUL THINGS. AND EVERYTHING GOD HAS MADE IS GOOD. BUT, THINK HOW EASY IS IT FOR US TO CLING TO THE MATERIAL WORLD FOR COMFORT OR STATUS, OR EVEN IDENTITY.

Ultimately the world will pass and we cannot take anything with us to the grave. “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”

1 Timothy 6:7. One of the almost guaranteed blessings of wilderness travel, even for just a day trip is that we realize how little we need to be happy. A day pack with a rain jacket, some food and water, and our Bible, and we are unbelievably happy. Entertained by frolicking squirrels hopping from tree to tree, surprised by a deer grazing near a stream… these good distractions show us that the Lord has provided a world full of beauty for us to enjoy, and we don’t need to accumulate things to insure happiness. In fact, just the opposite.

2. FAMILIAR

Because humans are a bit like hobbits, we tend to get used to our routine, our place, our roles. We become familiar with our surroundings and that allows us to function from a position of peace. This is all good, unless we make familiarity an idol. When God asks us to step out and go a different direction or take on a new responsibility, our fascination with familiarity can easily drown out that still small voice which is calling us onward and outward.

3 THINGS THAT WILL LAST FOR ETERNITY

1. SOULS. SOULS ARE ETERNAL.There is an interesting verse in the book of Hebrews that highlights this truth: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” (Hebrews 9:27) This means that after each of us dies we don’t have a second chance. We die once, and then face judgement. This is actually common sense but its a bit sobering when taken plainly as the Scripture reads. This is why evangelism matters. Because souls and their eternal destination matter. The final book of the Bible is called Revelation. In many ways it provides some of the clearest trumpet calls for people to repent of their self-sufficiency and turn humbly to God for salvation:

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.’ – Revelation 14:6-7

C.S. Lewis reflects on this reality in his book The Great Divorce:There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.

2. SACRIFICES: AS I THINK OF WHAT GOD HAS INTENDED FOR SACRIFICIAL LIVING, CERTAIN PEOPLE COME TO MIND AS EXAMPLES. MAYBE ON OF THE BEST IS JOHN THE BAPTIST.There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. John 1:6-8Let’s think about this metaphor of “light” for a moment. When camping one evening by the Sea. There was a full moon so I took a quiet walk on the beach to pray and think. When I came back to the crackling fire I looked up at the full moon and the light that it cast on the sea. It was so bright you didn’t even need a headlamp to walk around. I thought, “How profound that the moon does not have any light in itself. It only reflects the light of the sun.” The moon teaches us a lesson from Creation that explains perfectly what it means for us to live sacrificially as witnesses of Christ to others. Here’s what I mean…We are not in and of ourselves a source of light for the world. We merely reflect the light of Jesus Christ by believing in him and walking in his Spirit. As witnesses, we are reflectors of Christ’s light to others just like the moon reflects the light of the sun. The same is true of sacrificial living, and this is why sacrifices last. When we lay our lives down, die to ourselves, and offer ourselves as a living sacrifice we become like the moon to our dark world. It is not our work that saves anyone, we just reflect the true light. (See Romans 12:1-2) Our humble and willing sacrifices simply reflect the Good News of Christ, like the moon offering gleams of light for a ship lost at sea.

3. SERVICE: “FOR EVEN THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY.” (MARK 10:45)

My friend who used to be the director of a Wilderness Ranch tells an amazing story of an unnamed servant who did something that changed the culture of their summer camp staff. This story illustrates exactly why Jesus said, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…” (Matthew 6:3) When we serve quietly, without a desire to receive anything in return, then we are creating something that moth and rust cannot destroy.

1 REFLECTION QUESTIONS1 The wilderness is a trustworthy counselor. Spend some time in a remote place hiking or sitting taking in a view and consider: a. Physical comforts and familiar routines won’t last. Are there any ways that God may be challenging me that will require letting go of some physical comfort or familiar routine? How is the wilderness teaching me to let go so that I can more fully enjoy the adventure?

2 In what ways is the wilderness environment teaching you about the eternal value of Souls, Sacrifice, and Service? Pray that Jesus will awake in you the desire to want your life to be about souls, sacrifice, and service. Apart from Him we can do nothing, so pray that He might use this experience in the wilderness to solidify a new trajectory to your life to invest where moth and rust will not destroy

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.” – Anne Frank

Young people are yearning for a meaningful vision for their future. The world of video games, and reality TV has only deepened their starvation for experiences that cause true transformation and cast compelling vision for their ultimate purpose. Thankfully, first century Palestine was absent of Grand Theft Auto IV and Boom Blox, but in reality, it did not lack distractions and burdens that were equally concerning. There were distractions of wealth, poverty, and religions. There were weighty burdens of Pharisaical laws and bitter Roman occupation. As Jesus looked into the culture of His day He settled on a surprising strategy to engage it: He chose a group of young people to turn the world upside down, He used the wilderness as His primary classroom, and He employed adventure to produce radical commitment toward His mission.

WHY WILDERNESS ADVENTURE CAMPING IS SO EFFECTIVE

Young people need time away from distractions so they can rest their soul and learn to think clearly. Experiential learning accomplishes this through natural decision- making scenarios, and it teaches them how to avoid trivial emotional distractions while alone or within a group (Rose, 33). Simon Beames, interviewed several British kids during an adventure experience in Ghana who affirmed this reality:

Rufus felt that ‘living in a tight community where there’s no escape’ was an important aspect of the experience. He explained… ‘in the UK if you don’t like someone you can just walk away or not phone them again or stay out of their way’ …. [But in wilderness, another participant Gordo commented], ‘It’s not just about speaking to people you get on with best. Its about learning to speak with people that you want to avoid!’ …. (150)

Wilderness journeys draw out the best in young people by confronting their fears and exposing the traps of entitlement. Young people want to pursue a radical mission, and the wilderness can sever the entanglements that strangle away God’s epoch vision for their lives.

WILDERNESS CLASSROOMS AND THE FRUIT OF ADVENTURE

Jesus preferred to illustrate Kingdom truth in the context of Creation. He taught along roads, atop mountains, in fields, in boats, while resting in gardens. He used adventure to produce faith. For example, after a long and tiring day of ministry Jesus instructed His Disciples to go over to the other side of the lake for some rest:

And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?’ They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’ (Mark 4:37-41)

Their strength was tested by the treachery of a furious squall to the point they thought they were going to die. Waking up in the stern of the boat, Jesus talked to the wind commanding it to halt its fury. The waves calmed. What an eerie experience that must have been to witness a conversation between Christ and His Creation! Jesus intentionally crafted this wilderness experience to show them that although they had every reason to trust Him, they still lacked faith. Could they have learned the same lesson from a lecture hall in the Temple? Or in this case, were the classroom of the sea and the timing of a raging tempest necessary to transform their hearts? The Scriptures seem to indicate the latter to be true.

Why is wilderness adventure camping so effective? Jesus shows us that the wilderness is a place where God gets our attention. If this was the way He chose to apprentice young people, then is it not equally critical now in our increasingly urban world for young people to encounter Him through wilderness adventure? Today we must re-discover this ancient apprenticing method, which produced leaders such as Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Jacob, David, Peter, James, John, and Paul. Each of them were profoundly called and shaped by God in the wilderness.