In The Wilderness

Michael James does a great song by the title of "In The Wilderness".
I couldn't find a link to the lyrics, so here they are live and in print.

"Where's the bush that burns? And the voice that calls from Heaven? Where's the Holy Ground for me to stand? Where the Miracle? Heaven knows I need one, Why I'm here I just don't understand.
Never dreamed you'd change directions from the way I thought I'd go, Who'd have guessed you'd lead me to a place I do not know

In the Wilderness, In the Wilderness. Until the things are gone that don't reflect your holiness, I know one day I'll stand, in the Promised Land; But for now I'm here while I become Your righteousness, In the Wilderness.

Where's the cloud of fire that's supposed to guide me? Why do I feel I'm on my own? Where's the parting sea? And the million other people? I never dreamed I'd go through this alone.
Is this the place I read about? Don't remember it this way. But when I'm through I know I'll be like You, So Lord I'll stay...

In the Wilderness, In the Wilderness. Until the things are gone that don't reflect your holiness; I know one day I'll stand, in the Promised Land, But for now I'm here while I become Your righteousness, In The Wilderness."

I feel the need to apologize for my last post, but I won't, because it was how I really felt then. I still feel some tinges of it in fact. However, I woke up this morning not very well rested, but with the thought that I have a choice to make. I can choose to bring others down with my contemplative sadness, or I can find strength in the Joy of the Lord. As a friend of a friend Myles said on his blog, which I'm going to borrow from because he says it perfectly. His blogsite by the way is www.Godinthedetails.blogspot.com
"Our lives, if we let them, are brimming over with goodness and mercy and fullness and, if we dare, the Spirit of God that pours all good things out upon all who ask. Our lives are too little to save room for something that is not yet in it, or something that has mysteriously left a gaping hole. Nature hates a vaccuum; it constantly seeks to fill us up, to cram life into our pores. Our lives are full of residue and memories of people and experiences, and eventually, if we resist the temptation to jettision memories, the container of our lives begins to stretch, enabling us to hold more and more, though eventually, we overflow. I call that overflowing joy."

I realized that it's a great sign that I dread saying good-bye to so many wonderful people, because I have wonderful people to say good-bye to. I am so blessed, I too have lots of wonderful residue and memories in my life for which I am so grateful. I often think of residue as something yucky left over. You know, from an bad science experiment or something. This is not the case here however. You have all left beautiful pieces of residue in my life. I am overflowing with the joy of the Lord, but also with the joy of so many people that are in my life.

So here's to times of Wilderness, where God calls us to Himself. We so often think of the wilderness as this dry, desolate, and desperate place. And it is, for when we are empty of ourselves, when we are so desolate that we don't know where to turn, and desperate for intervention in our lives, that's when God can fully reveal Himself to show us our need of Him.
So I choose to be thankful today for the wilderness in my life. For I want to be more like Christ.

"Empty me Lord, so I may be full of you, and able to reach that Higher Ground which I have been asking for."