The Wilderness: Enduring God’S Call to Wait

By Marty McLain

Sometimes you find yourself in a place in life that is less than ideal. Maybe you are like Joseph and feel theres no chance for promotion. Or youre like David and are just trying to survive. Perhaps you feel like Paul, who labored away in obscurity and lost it all. For whatever reason you feel as though you are in a wilderness and you cant seem to escape. At times like this, panic can set in and lead to choices that are less than what God has planned for your life. How do you avoid this? How do you endure?

In The Wilderness, author and pastor Mary McLain looks to the examples of three men in the BibleJoseph, David, and Paulwho had to wait years to be able to do what God called them to do. Marty also speaks to his own past experiences in the ministry and his years spent in a spiritual wilderness. He shares how he struggled to endure in the season of life that seemed to bear no fruitbut he shows that with perseverance and trust in God, he was able to hold on and discover the path to fulfillment.

If youve ever struggled with the wait or found yourself lost in the wilderness, unsure of where to go next, Gods command is to endure. Be comforted to know that you are not alone, and some of the most powerful testimonies in the Bible came after a long period of waiting. You have not been forgotten.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973613510

Marty McLain

Marty McLain has been in pastoral ministry for over twenty-five years, and he is currently the teaching pastor at Westhills Church in Villa Rica, Georgia. Marty holds a doctor of ministry degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and he lives with his wife, Stephanie, in Northwest Georgia. They have four children and one grandchild.

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Copyright © 2018 Marty McLain.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-1352-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1353-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-1351-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018900286

WestBow Press rev. date:  01/31/2018

CONTENTS

Introduction

Part I Joseph

Letting Adversity Prepare You for Success

Chapter 1   Overcoming Hardship

Chapter 2   Living the Dream

Part II David

The Perils of Early Success When Followed by Hardship

Chapter 3   Navigating the Success-Failure Pendulum

Chapter 4   Staying Focused

Part III Saul

Success after a Midlife Change

Chapter 5   Accepting God’s Call

Chapter 6   Returning from Obscurity

Conclusion

I would like to

dedicate this book to my wife, Stephanie. Other than the Lord, you are my greatest joy in life. Your passion and faithfulness are without rival. You are my soulmate, lover, and best friend. I am glad we are heirs together of the grace of life (1 Peter 3:7).

Also, I would like to thank the leadership team of Summit Church. Your constant encouragement and support helped to sustain me when I was at my lowest. I will always be in your debt.

Finally, I would like to thank my oldest daughter, Virginia Greene, for all of the hard work you did to make this book possible. I don’t think I could have done it without you.

INTRODUCTION

We had just moved into our new house in a growing suburb on the west side of Atlanta. The kids were enrolled in a new school, and my wife and I were excited about the future. All systems were full speed ahead. In that first week in our new residence, we had two unexpected visitors—a snake and a scorpion. That’s right; within days of moving to the metropolitan capital of the south, I had to kill two creatures of the wild inside my home. I knew there was some biblical significance to the combination of a snake and a scorpion, but at the time I was too busy and life was too good for me to give it much consideration.

It wasn’t until I was trying to put the pieces of my life back together that I gave serious thought to these encounters. Was God trying to give me a heads up that I was headed toward a wilderness experience? After all, Deuteronomy 8:15 speaks of snakes and scorpions as being part of the children of Israel’s wilderness experience.

Whether God was preparing me or not, I can’t definitively say. What I can say is that I did go into the wilderness, and what follows is a firsthand account of God’s faithfulness.

Directionally Challenged

August 19, 1982, is a date that will live in infamy for those who are directionally challenged. It was on this day that major-league baseball pitcher Pascual Perez could not find his way to the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium to pitch for the Atlanta Braves. A native of the Dominican Republic, Perez was new to Atlanta, having recently been acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was his third home start for the Braves, but for some reason, he could not figure out how to get off the interstate.

Perez circled Atlanta several times on the I-285 perimeter before eventually getting off on the right exit.¹ Needless to say, he missed his start, and his circuitous route became indelibly etched into the memories of Braves fans everywhere.

Do you ever feel as though you are in the car with Pascual Perez? You are just driving around and can’t get off on the right exit. You know that you have something very important you are supposed to do, but you just can’t get to where you need to be. Even though you are trying your best to follow what you perceive is God’s plan, you can’t seem to find your way. You are trying to live right, to worship faithfully, and to give freely, but your life has gotten blown off course. I’m not talking about days or weeks. I’m talking about years. You do all the introspection, confession, and repentance you know to do, but still nothing changes. It seems as though God is watching you from afar and doing absolutely nothing to intervene.

As a man, how do you respond? You are supposed to be the strong one. How can you be strong for those you love when you feel abandoned by God?

Life-Altering Decision

In 2006, I was called to pastor a church that presented a lot of challenges. I was a relatively young man with a bright future. As such, I felt confident I could handle almost anything a church could throw at me. After all, I had been a pastor with a great track record over the past twelve years.

I was wrong. Call it hubris or whatever you like, but to make a long story short, I did not even make it a year. After eleven months, I resigned and began a long, strange ride that lasted a decade.

During this time, I struggled the most with the knowledge that prior to my resignation, I prayed immensely, sought godly counsel, and pored over scripture. I felt extremely confident that my bold actions were bathed in prayer and blessed by God.

Even though I felt like I followed God’s will as best as I knew how, I wound up in a wilderness. How could I feel so confident and yet everything turned out so badly? I thought that I would be met with immediate success. With all the sincerity