Have You Been to the Wasteland?

I’m not talking about the Badlands of South Dakota or the Utah Salt Flats. Neither am I talking about the Phoenix deserts, Mexico, or the moon’s surface. I’m wondering if you’ve ever been to a Wasteland place in your life. You know that place where dreams are forgotten, your friends are missing, and you feel deserted by just about everyone including God. Where you’ve sat for hours thinking to yourself What in the world am I going to do? It’s a terrible place of vulnerability, those Wastelands. There are no shadows in which to hide or boulders to crawl under. You’re out in the open and simply enduring whatever comes next.

In Bruce Wilkinson’s book The Dream Giver, he calls this place a WasteLand. “If you have ever endured lengthy trials, or seen an important dream delayed, or felt forgotten by God, you know already how a WasteLand feels. In fact, you might be in a WasteLand of some kind right now.”

I have a friend going through the Wastelands right now. I recommended that she read through the book of Psalms reading some chapters over and over again until their messages sink in. This morning I read Psalm 18:16-19 and was reminded again of how God cares for us in the Wastelands of our lives.

He sent from above, he took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. (NKJV)

What Do Kids Have to Say?

A couple of years ago I was privileged to attend the 4-14 Conference in Singapore. This group of leaders from around the globe only minister to children. We met to see how we could work together and not try to reinvent the wheel to produce programs for kids.

We worked hard all week having meetings, doing presentations of our ministries, and sharing ideas and thoughts. We ate meals together, shared worship services, and listened to speakers from many different nations. There were 1,500 people in attendance. It was one of the most encouraging conferences I’ve ever attended.

Throughout the week, any children who had come with their parents gathered in another part of the building. They learned songs, listened to devotions, and enjoyed their new-found friends. On Friday night, all of us met together for one final worship service. The children were brought out and wanted to perform the songs they had learned. They were ushered to the front stage and the music began.

In the middle of all the singing and praising, one young man raised his hand on stage and asked for the audience to be silent. It was unusual and surely we didn’t know what he wanted.

“I feel that the Holy Spirit is telling me something I need to tell you,” the 11-year-old boy said. The house grew absolutely quiet and the music stopped. “We are all meeting here this week to see what we can do for the children of the world, of which I am one. Is that not right? Well, if the purpose is to do what is right for us as children, why have you not asked us what we need?”

I cannot begin to tell you what happened next without shivers running up my arms. When that young boy made that statement the worldwide leaders went up on stage, got down on their knees, and asked the children for forgiveness. They asked the children to pray over them that they would be more aware of who the children are and what their needs are—not just continue to set up more meetings about the meetings to adjust the meetings for the children!

I was floored. I was stunned and disquieted in my spirit to think that we had gone all week having meetings about children but it was more for the adults, not the kids! The kids! That’s why we were there!

I came home from Singapore with a different perspective on how to reach children. Ask them what they need. Don’t just create programs to say you have a program for kids. Ask the kids what programs they truly believe would help them grow as Christians and build up their faith. This new perspective brought me to my knees and put me on an eye-to-eye level with the kids.