Day 15 in the Wilderness: Be productive regardless of your circumstances.

“Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings:”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭39:32-33‬a NKJV‬‬

Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Alabama. Due to a an illness-induced fever, she lost her sight and hearing before the age of two. But, if you know her story, you know that the rest of the story is not the tragedy one might expect. Surprisingly, not only did she learn to read, write, and speak, she graduated college, wrote several books, and was responsible for founding several organizations.

Anne Frank was a Jewish girl born in 1929. She spent two years in hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands. She died in a German concentration camp in 1945. During her time in hiding she wrote an insightful diary that would impact the whole world, even to this day.

The above two examples show that a situation does not have to define you, nor need it result in a paralysis of initiative. Indeed, the deep pressing of circumstances can bring forth fragrant oil in our lives.

The Bible is full of examples of great things done in the crucible of adversity. One of these Bible over-comers is the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament. Interestingly, he wrote four epistles while under house arrest in Rome. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon were written during this time. The impact of the insight, instruction and encouragement found in these “prison letters,” cannot be measured.

There is a tendency to want to shut down when in the midst of adversity. It’s nearly like all of our strength and energy is directed toward focusing on the trouble. But paralysis, in the face of adversity, only makes things worse.

Today we see that the children of Israel, having immediately responded to the instructions given by God through Moses, have finished the work of the tabernacle. We learned earlier in this journey how their giving for the tabernacle was in such excess that further giving had to be prohibited. Now we see that these willing givers, are also willing workers, producing in a situation of adversity (wandering in the wilderness), what others could not have done, given all advantages.

We have a decision to make when facing adversity. We can assume the fetal position and meditate on our dreadful plight; or we can understand that the God on the mountain, is the same God in the valley. As such, we can allow Him to strengthen us to produce more in adversity than others produce in good times.

For today write this in your “wilderness journal”:

Be productive regardless of your circumstances.

#40daysinthewilderness