3 Wilderness Lessons at the Beach

Though I’m no longer a sun-bather, I love the beach. It’s healing for me and stirs my creativity. The sound of the waves. The scent of sea air. The predictable rhythm of the tides.

It was about this same time last year that I traveled to North Carolina’s Outer Banks—as I’ve done every year since 2017—with 5-6 other writers to share a beach-front house. Since it’s “off-season,” we can pool our hard-earned savings and actually afford this annual bliss.

But it’s not a vacation. It’s all business—with my Creator.

His whisper resounds in the quiet of this getaway. His voice is somehow louder than at any other time during the year. By October of each year, I’ve usually spent the summer researching the next book, and I come to the beach ready to write my new book—or at least plot the whole thing.

This year, because edits on Potiphar’s Wife were so incredibly difficult, I came to the beach spent. Exhausted. Empty.

More than ever, I’m here to listen. This year, unlike the others, I’m here to rest. I must hear what my Abba says BEFORE I begin research on the sequel to Potiphar’s Wife, the book about Joseph’s wife, Asenath.

Want to know what I’ve learned during the past year’s wilderness that will help me hear God’s voice on the beach?

Lesson #1 – God Sometimes Leads Us Into the Impossible

When I was new in my faith, I often thought difficulties in life meant God was angry with me or that I’d somehow taken a wrong path. But our pastor’s most recent sermon series reminded me that God sometimes leads His people into impossible situations:

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, “The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.” And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them.’” Exodus 14:1-4a

You mean God wanted Pharaoh to pursue the Israelites into a corner on the beach of the Red Sea?

Why God?

Water at their backs and mountains on both sides. Why would Yahweh send ten plagues and perform all sorts of miracles to free the people He loved like a firstborn and then lead them to a dead-end showdown with the most powerful army in the known world?

“I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.” Exodus 14:4b (emphasis added)

Yahweh led the Israelites into an impossible situation so the Egyptians would see God’s glory.

My hardships aren’t always about me.

Lesson #2 – Answered Prayers Don’t Always Go As Expected

We’ve watched the 1985 epic drama, Out of Africa, several times, and though I wouldn’t recommend it as wholesome entertainment, the story and characters present a few redeeming concepts. At one point, Meryl Streep’s character says, “When God wants to punish you, He answers your prayers.”

I vehemently disagree with the underlying theology, but the concept that answered prayer can become a hardship or trial is proved true in both biblical accounts and personal experience.

“Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So she went to inquire of the Lord.” Genesis 25:21-22 (emphasis added)

Asking the Right Question

Those who ask the Lord, “Why is this happening,” are in the “Rebekah Club” and join the Lord in a team effort to learn from the difficulties ahead and grow through the experience.

Those who say, “Why are You doing this to me,” have joined Meryl Streep’s Out of Africa theology and find themselves accusing our all-knowing God of somehow being unjust or wishing us ill.

I prayed for years to get a publishing contract, but after the past year of gut-twisting edits, I considered quitting. There were times I teetered on the edge of Meryl Streep’s, “Why me, Lord?” However, with the faithful prayers and encouragement from readers, family, and friends, I’ve learned so, so much through this process and have come out on the other side a stronger writer.

When difficulties arise, asking God, “What can I learn?” is far more productive than accusing our holy God of wrongdoing.

Lesson #3 – Expect Hardship, But Seek Peace

I’m not sure where modern-day Christians got the idea we would be exempt from suffering. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke record Jesus telling crowds they must “carry their cross daily” to be His disciples.

“And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27 (emphasis added)

Think about what “taking up your cross” meant to Jesus’s hearers. Roman crucifixion (in which the person sentenced to death had to carry their own cross to the place of execution) was the most inhumane form of execution conceived to that point of history.

That’s what Jesus wanted His hearers to know they must be willing to suffer if they chose to follow Him. What would be Jesus’s equivalent challenge to us in today’s terms?

“You can only be My disciple if you’re willing to . . .

incur a death sentence.”
be imprisoned for life.”
alienate your family.”
lose your job.”
act like Jesus instead of following your own sinful desires.”

Acting Like Jesus . . .

Here’s the core of that “carrying your cross” thing: my old self (the sinful, B.C. Mesu) really wants to take over when I’m tired, hurt, rejected, insecure, stressed, weary, discouraged, [fill in any other negative emotion]. When those negative emotions or physical weaknesses take control, I forget to appropriate the Holy Spirit’s power through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11

So—news flash—we can live out the righteousness and peace of Jesus through the power of the Spirit anytime. We must simply remember to ask.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (emphasis added)

I recently had my 3-month check-up with my neurologist. She always asks how my writing journey is going, which pretty much reveals how my chronic migraines are doing. I gave her a glimpse into the line edit I just finished, and she said—rather nonchalantly: “It’s great that you’ve prepared ways to avoid these pitfalls again. You know there will be other stressors in the future—but you’ll handle those too.”

We can expect peace in hardship when we remember the Source of our strength.

Wilderness Lessons at Home or the Beach

John’s Gospel records Jesus’s final night with His disciples—a night filled with the greatest hardships they had ever faced. Jesus said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6), and only in Him could they have peace (Jn. 14:27).

The same is true for us today. Whether at home, work, or at the beach (like I am today), Jesus is the only Way, the only sure Truth, and the only possibility for an abundant Life. And in a world filled with chaos and endless uncertainties, He is our peace.