CHAPTER 1
Session 1
No Way Around the Wilderness
Charting the Course
Learning Objective
Participants will explore the meaning of the wilderness and begin to understand how their experiences in the wilderness can grow their Christian faith and bring them closer to God.
Themes for Exploration
• A wilderness can be a physical place or a life circumstance.
• We may feel separated from God when we are in a wilderness, yet a wilderness actually provides an opportunity for us to grow closer to God.
• Time spent in a wilderness can prepare us to receive God's blessings and to prevail against life's challenges.
Key Scripture
Remember the long way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NRSV)
Theological Focus
God uses the difficult, desperate times of our lives to conform us to the image of Christ, teaching us important lessons about our character and God's character. Through suffering, persevering, and trusting God, we grow in our faith. God uses the wilderness to prepare and equip us to be like Jesus and serve a hurting and broken world in Christ's name.
Before the Session
• Review the session outline and, if desired, the video segment.
• You may want to find pictures of various kinds of wilderness areas and display them around the room.
• Have chart paper or a whiteboard and markers ready to record responses to questions during the session. (optional) • Have access to print or online concordances for participants to use for the Scripture study.
Getting Started (10 Minutes)
Opening Prayer
Loving God, thank you for this time together. We give thanks for each person in this group and pray that you will guide us as we journey through this study together. We acknowledge that you are with us even as we walk through a wilderness. Grant us strength and courage as we persevere through the challenging times of our lives. Open our hearts and minds to be receptive to what you desire to teach us so that we may be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Housekeeping
• Since this is the first session, take a few minutes to share any necessary information about your meeting space and schedule.
• Remind participants to bring their Bibles and books to each session.
• Stress the importance of maintaining confidentiality within the group.
Conversation Starter
Share the title for this study, A Way Through the Wilderness. Call attention to the author's question in Chapter 1: "What images come to mind when you think of a wilderness?"
Ask:
• What natural areas in our region and around the world come to mind when you think about a wilderness?
• What are the characteristics of these natural areas that cause you to think of them as wilderness?
• How does the author describe the wilderness terrain we find in the Bible?
Read this quote from the book: "In the Scriptures, wilderness is used to describe a time in a person's life when his or her soul is parched and dry; when today is hard and the future appears barren; when as far as you can see there is nothing but devastation, and you wonder if you'll find a way out."
Ask:
• What places and times in our lives might we describe as a wilderness? (Possible answers include a hospital room, nursing home, a time of illness, the loss of a relationship or job, a disability). Note: This is not the time for participants to share individual experiences.
Engaging the Material (40 Minutes)
The Video
Play:Session 1: No Way Around the Wilderness (approximately 10–15 minutes)
Discuss:
• How can the way we think before entering the wilderness hurt or help us when hard times come?
• What do the Scriptures tell us about what we can expect from God when we are in the wilderness?
• Do you agree that our greatest battles are inside ourselves? Why or why not? How does the wilderness help us to fight and win our inner battles?
• How can the wilderness be compared to an unexpected test that teaches us lessons?
The Scriptures
• Read the Key Scripture: Deuteronomy 8:2-3.
• Note that the term wilderness is used nearly three hundred times in the Bible.
• Have the participants use print or online concordances to search for Scripture passages that include the word wilderness. Have them read the passages aloud. Or, if the group is large, break into small groups or pairs for this exercise and then come back together for a time of sharing. Work together to make a list of things that these passages tell us about a physical wilderness and a spiritual wilderness.
The Book
Invite participants to share briefly (just a couple of sentences) about a wilderness experience they have had or a wilderness in which they currently find themselves. After everyone who would like to share has had the opportunity, address this question to the group as a whole: "What are some of the feelings we have during a wilderness experience?" Record responses on a whiteboard or chart paper.
Say:
The author points out that an easy or comfortable life does not create character and strength. He writes, "A life without great challenges will not grow a great faith."
Ask:
• How have your experiences in the wilderness helped you grow in character and strength?
• How have these experiences grown your faith and made you more like Christ?
• Why do you think difficult and devastating experiences help us to have a deeper and more meaningful relationship with God?
Invite participants to refer to the section of the chapter titled "Why Does God Allow Us to Experience the Wilderness?"
Ask:
• How does the author answer this question? (Record responses on a whiteboard or chart paper.)
• How do you answer this question?
Invite participants to refer to the section titled "The Wilderness Prepares Us for Blessing."
Read this quote: "So before God blesses us, often he allows us to go through a wilderness experience that humbles our spirit and refines our character. Then we have the maturity that can bear the blessing."
Ask:
• What are examples of God's blessings?
• What does the author mean by a "humble spirit"?
• Why is it important to have a humble spirit?
• In what ways has God refined your character and humbled your spirit?
Invite participants to refer to the section titled "The Wilderness Prepares Us for Battle."
Ask:
• What "battles" are we as Christians called to fight today?
• How has your time in the wilderness prepared you to fight these battles?
• In what ways have trials and hardship made you a more faithful follower of Christ?
Note that everyone faces a wilderness at some time in his or her life. Use the following questions to help you gain an idea of the expectations and needs of the participants.
Ask:
• What are your hopes and expectations for this class?
• What support and tools do you feel you need to help you make your way through a wilderness?
Life Application
Invite participants to write the following questions in a journal or notebook, and encourage them to think about the questions during the coming week.
• How have I rebelled against God when I have encountered challenging and devastating circumstances?
• How can I be more open to God's presence and instruction during a wilderness experience?
• What blessings have I received from a wilderness experience?
If there is time remaining in the session, invite participants to share some of their responses to these questions now — either in pairs, small groups, or with the whole group. Remind participants that the sharing of responses is voluntary.
Closing the Session (10 minutes)
A Final Reflection
Read the closing paragraph of the chapter. Offer a brief summary of the concerns and insights expressed by participants during the session.
Closing Prayer
Loving God, when we travel through the wilderness, help us to remember that you are faithful to your promise to always be with us. May we journey through the wilderness with faith, confident that you are blessing our lives and preparing us to bless the lives of others. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
CHAPTER 2
Session 2
Entering the Wilderness
Charting the Course
Learning Objective
Participants will explore the four entry points to a wilderness experience, discover characteristics of these four wilderness areas, and discern what pathway(s) led them into a wilderness.
Themes for Exploration
• There are a variety of reasons why we may find ourselves in a wilderness.
• Sometimes we are responsible for the fact that we remain in the wilderness.
• God can use the dry, barren times in our lives to give birth to new life and opportunities.
Key Scripture
My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 CEB)
Theological Focus
Sometimes an experience in the wilderness is God's plan for us. Sometimes we experience the wilderness because of our actions or the actions of someone else. Sometimes we find ourselves in the wilderness because of events outside our control. No matter how we enter the wilderness, God is with us and will help us find a way through.
Before the Session
• Review the session outline and, if desired, the video segment.
• Write the four pathways to the wilderness as headings on a dry-erase board or chart paper, leaving room under each heading to record comments during discussion.
• Review the ideas in "Optional Activities for Enhancing the Study." The ideas for journaling and role-playing will work well for this session.
Getting Started (10 Minutes)
Opening Prayer
Gracious God, we thank you for this time to gather with each other as we continue to explore what it means to experience the wilderness. Open our hearts and minds to be receptive to what you want us to learn. Thank you for your continuing faithfulness as we seek to be faithful to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Conversation Starter
Share a lighthearted example of a time you ended up in a place where you did not want to go or did not intend to be (examples: walking into the wrong classroom during a lecture or taking a shortcut and getting lost). Then invite participants to share similar experiences.
Ask:
• When have you ended up somewhere that you did not want or intend to be?
• What chain of events led you to this place?
Explain that in this session you will be exploring four different entry points or pathways that can lead us into a wilderness.
Engaging the Material (40 Minutes)
The Video
Play:Session 2: Entering the Wilderness (approximately 10–15 minutes)
Discuss:
• Have you ever found yourself in the wilderness because you ignored a small problem that became a bigger problem? In hindsight, what could you have done differently to prevent that wilderness experience?
• How does our ability to choose how we respond to circumstances impact our wilderness experience?
• Why do you think transitions in life are times when we are prone to have a wilderness experience?
• Do you agree with the author that sometime God will lead us into the wilderness as he did his own Son, Jesus? Why or why not?
• What does the author say is the great benefit of the wilderness?
The Scriptures
Read Genesis 3, or invite volunteers to read several verses each. Note that the snake, the woman, and the man all entered a wilderness when God sent them out of the garden.
Ask:
• Why did God send the serpent into the wilderness?
• Why did God send the woman into the wilderness?
• Why did God send the man into the wilderness?
• What could the snake, the woman, and the man each have done to prevent being sent into the wilderness?
• What act of kindness did God perform to show his continuing care for the man and woman?
Conclude this discussion by noting that we are never outside of God's care. Even when we find ourselves in a wilderness, God provides what we need to make it through.
The Book
Review the author's definition of wilderness as stated in the first sentence of this chapter: "A barren time of devastation that God can use to prepare us for blessing and battle." Remind participants that no one is immune to a wilderness experience. Both Elijah and Jesus were sent by God into the wilderness.
Share the four entry points that can lead us into the wilderness, and say that these will be the focus of this session:
• Our Decisions and Actions
• The Actions of Others
• The Natural Flow of Life
• The Plan of God
Our Decisions and Actions
Remind participants of the author's three examples for this entryway: the children of Israel, the man who had an affair, and the young woman who turned to drugs.
Ask:
• What decisions and actions led these persons into a wilderness? (Answers may include: lack of trust in God, self-gratification, engaging in self-destructive and hurtful behaviors to escape the problem.)
• What decisions have you made and what actions have you taken that led you into a wilderness?
The Actions of Others
Remind participants of the examples from the book of the woman whose daughter was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the woman whose husband had been abused as a child. Note that a wilderness may be a constant state of being, as the mother seemed to experience, or an experience we go in and out of but never completely leave, as the man seemed to experience.
Ask:
• Have you ever entered a wilderness due to the words or actions of others?
Share this quote from the book: "You may have entered a wilderness because of what has been done to you, but you remain there because of the choices you make." Note that while these words may sound harsh, the author intends them as words of hope. With God's help we can let go of past hurts and move out of the wilderness.
Ask:
Note: Participants may respond to the following questions in a journal if they prefer. Explain that they can answer regarding a current or past wilderness experience.
• What choices are you making that are keeping you in a wilderness?
• What painful experiences or hurtful words do you need to let go of before you can leave this wilderness?
• Who do you need to forgive before you can leave this wilderness?
The Natural Flow of Life
Note that unlike the first two entryways, this one is not caused by human action. This entryway comes as part of the normal course of life.
Invite class members to work together and compile a list of life events and transitions that can lead a person into a wilderness. The author mentions several. Write the list on a whiteboard or chart paper. Ask how many people have experienced each event/transition, and record the number for each item on the list. Refer to this list as you discuss the following questions.
Ask:
• How many of you have experienced several of these events or transitions at once?
• What feelings did you have or are you having as you experienced these life events and transitions?
• Which of these events and transitions can send us into a time of grief and mourning?
• Which of these events and transitions offer opportunities for rebirth and new life?
• How do you respond to the author's comment that when we fight against these uncontrollable events and transitions we stay in the wilderness?
• In your experience, how does embracing the event or the transition help you move out of the wilderness and into new life?
The Plan of God
Invite participants to turn to the section in the book with this title. Call attention to the author's use of the word sometimes in the first paragraph of this section: "Sometimes a wilderness experience can be God's plan for us. There are times when a specific purpose of God requires us to go through difficult periods of trial, struggle, and suffering."
Call attention to the second paragraph in which the author offers examples of wilderness experiences that God does not will for us. Be mindful that some people do blame God for permitting these things, or similar things, to happen.
Write "the dark night of the soul" on a whiteboard or chart paper. Encourage participants to use the book as a guide as they share responses to the following questions.
Ask:
• What are words and phrases that describe and define the wilderness experience referred to as "the dark night of the soul"?
• What is God's purpose in leading us into such a wilderness?
