The Wilderness

Luke 1:80

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

It is in the wilderness where we grow.  It is apart from the noise, the banter, the distractions, the enveloping technological invasion and ultimately our comfort where God finds us as a barren child.  He finds us surviving off honey and clothed in the skins of animals that we must work to overcome.  Our food is guarded, our meals are scattered and our shelter comes only from toil and work.

It's where everything is stripped from us where God can prepare us.  From then, in His timing, we are revealed.  We are often not ready to be revealed.  A masterpiece still in the works, as we wait on the finishing touches, or maybe the middle ground, or maybe our first foundations.  If we were ready to be revealed, the celebration of the Lord's construction would have already taken place.

Only through the wilderness are we prepared.  Only in his timing are we revealed.  Only for His glory are we celebrated.