Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Crux Sola: Formed by Scripture to Live like Christ

Home
Evangelical
Hope in the Wilderness: Spiritual Reflections for When God Feels Far Away (by Noel Forlini Burt)

Hope in the Wilderness: Spiritual Reflections for When God Feels Far Away (by Noel Forlini Burt)

Last updated on: January 25, 2023 at 4:38 pm by Nijay Gupta

0 Comments

Hope in the Wilderness: Spiritual Reflections for When God Feels Far Away (by Noel Forlini Burt) 2023-01-25T16:38:10-08:00 Nijay Gupta

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

My new friend, Noel Forlini Burt, has written an excellent new book on journeying through “wilderness” experiences with faith and hope. I am thankful that she agreed to write about this topic and showcase some ideas in her book. Noel has a PhD from Drew University. She teaches and lectures widely in the intersection of Bible and spiritual formation. A spiritual director, retreat leader, and academic, Noel believes the Bible is a deep well from which people can draw in their own spiritual formation.

In the Struggle is the Formation.

by Noel Forlini Burt

In the struggle is the formation.

These were the first words I heard at orientation to what I have affectionately come to call “monk camp.” It was August of 2018, and I sat down with about 60 strangers at Camp Sumatanga, a Methodist camp just outside Birmingham, Alabama. Together, we began orientation for a two-year certification in spiritual formation through the Upper Room Academy for Spiritual Formation. During orientation, one of our leaders spoke eloquently about spiritual formation—about its purpose and about its challenges. She offered the same definition given by theologian Robert Mulholland many years ago—spiritual formation is the process of being transformed into the image of Christ for the sake of others.

In the struggle is the formation, she repeated, acknowledging from the outset that suffering, struggle, discomfort and disorientation are central to the shaping work of the God in whose image we are formed.

These were also the first words I heard—really heard—just before I entered a season of profound disorientation in my own life.

Faithful Christians throughout the ages have used different names, images and metaphors to describe disorientation in our lives with God. Quakers, for example, refer to Way Closing to describe painful seasons of suffering and transition, where one life has ended and an uncertain future is dimly lit around a darkened corner. The medieval mystic Saint John of the Cross spoke about a Dark Night of the Soul, in which God no longer felt present and all the usual comforts of prayer, Scripture reading, and worship no longer fed his soul. In John of the Cross’ understanding, God had withdrawn his presence, ultimately, to stoke in him a greater desire for God.

Biblical tradition itself largely refers to times of disorientation, suffering, or experiences of God’s absence through the metaphor of wilderness. Biblical wilderness, as depicted in Exodus through Deuteronomy, or used as a metaphor for exile in Isaiah, or even in the life of Jesus, seems to involve many things: disorientation, waiting, suffering, restlessness, confusion, spiritual malaise, stripping away of all of the usual things upon which we can rely, darkness. And, notably, encounter with God. Throughout Scripture, the Israelites live in wilderness space at least twice, whether actually or metaphorically in exile. Theologically speaking, this textual terrain seems to convey that wilderness is liminal space, space that is betwixt and between, space caught on the threshold from one thing to another. Wilderness is space that is not intended for permanent habitation. It is a space that is not home. Our experiences of wilderness teach us to hold everything we think we know about God, about ourselves, and how the world works, loosely. Ultimately, wilderness is a space that teaches us to let go. Wilderness is the place in which God bids us to come and die and also to be reborn.

I know, not just because I have traveled this textual terrain (although I have), but because I have traveled wilderness terrain myself. My experience of wilderness has textured my own relationship with God, so that I can affirm with confidence—in the struggle is the formation.

In my new book Hope in the Wilderness: Spiritual Reflections for When God Feels Far Away, I invite readers into my own season of wilderness wandering, enfolding the story of biblical characters who also wandered in wilderness. While we need to be careful, prayerful, and pastoral in how we speak about God’s role in suffering, it is an inescapable reality that there are times in Scripture where God’s people find themselves in wilderness because God has sent them there. For example, when the LORD leads the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, Exodus tells us that the LORD causes them to take the “roundabout way of the wilderness” (Exod.13:17-18). In the book of Hosea, the prophet speaks for the LORD and tells the people, “…I will allure [Israel], and bring her into the wilderness, and speak to her heart…” (Hos.2:14) When Jesus is tempted by the Devil in the wilderness, all three Synoptic Gospels make it plain—the Spirit “drove” him there (Matt. 4:1; Mk. 1:12; Lk. 4:1). And, the prophet Habakkuk tells us that it is God who “raises up the Babylonians” (Hab.1:6). Scripture offers an uncomfortable reality—sometimes (not always) God sends God’s people into the wilderness not as a punishment but for the purpose of spiritual formation, of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others. In short, if we cooperate with the work that God wants to do in our lives, the wilderness can change us.

The wilderness is a school of humility, a vehicle of holiness, a place where we learn that God is the one before whom we are all laid bare. What Moses tells the people in Deuteronomy is this: God caused the people to hunger, led them through the wilderness with terrible scorpions and snakes, in order to humble them, to test them, and, in the end, to do them good (Deut.8:16).

In the struggle is the formation.

Dare we trust that our own wilderness experiences can actually do us some good?

None of this means that we do not lament our losses honestly.

While Hope in the Wilderness is about my own story, the reflections in my book are intended to beckon you gently to open yourself to the heart of God in your own story. At some point all of us, no matter who we are and how faithful we are—if we are awake to our lives at all—will find ourselves in the wilderness. Perhaps like me, somewhere in the midst of your own wilderness, you may find yourself leaving the home of God’s heart. Perhaps like me, somewhere in the middle of your own wilderness, you may be tempted to substitute other things for the calling of God upon your life. Maybe you will yell at God a little (or a lot). Maybe you will enter into the Great Silence (part of the Liturgy of the Hours in Christian tradition) and encounter God differently than ever before. Maybe you will learn to name God—and yourself—differently than ever before. I pray that in your own wilderness wandering, you will begin to hear the voice of God calling you home to Godself. And, I pray that when you read Hope in the Wilderness: Spiritual Reflections for When God Feels Far Away, you will be drawn closer to the heart of the God who has loved you before you were born and who will go on loving you after you die.

In the struggle is the formation.

Check out Noel’s new book!

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 12, 2023

New Biblical Reference Series: The Preacher's Greek Companion (Hendrickson Publishers)

Next Post

January 31, 2023 Join the Launch Team for TELL HER STORY

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Thanks for joining us, memorable experience for me too"

Nijay Gupta

2023: Year In Review

"Loved being part of the Tell Her Story launch team, and my daughter lover her ..."

Hashim Warren

2023: Year In Review

"It is interesting that conservative Christians are open to demon possession around the world, but ..."

Demon Problems, the Bible, and Enchanted ..."

"The power of belief is phenomenal. Scientists call it the placebo effect.When my mom was ..."

EarthGrowl

Demon Problems, the Bible, and Enchanted ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category (Mis)Understanding Philippians 10 Things I Can't Live Without 2023 New Books 30 OT HB Scholars to Read and Follow 5 Books Series 50-2-Follow Academia Christian Theologians to Read and Follow Cruciform Scripture: Contributor Reflections Crux Sola TV Editors Behind Great Books in NT Studies Education Gendering the Holy Spirit Gupta FB Live Lectures In Faith and Doubt In Their Own Words Living the King Jesus Gospel My Top 6 OT Commentaries New Testament Resource Guide New Word Biblical Themes Nijay's A Very Library Christmas Shopping Guide Notes from an Editor Notes on New Books NTRG OT in the NT Paul Seminary Now The Bible in God's World The Word Felt Among Us SPENCER Translating Philippians Uncategorized Why I Use Accordance Women in Ministry

Select a Month March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz