...Out of obscurity

I was reading about John the Baptizer this morning, from Luke chapter 1. The last verse of the chapter struck me with two thoughts:

1. It says John grew up and become strong in spirit.

I wonder what that means? And if I were honest, I would have to admit that I am jealous. I deeply long to be strong in spirit - to know his presence and strength. There is nothing I hunger for more - the wisdom that he offers. But lately I feel like I am blundering recklessly, like a gorilla with a tea set of fine china. Nothing seems to go right, and I am afraid of making poor choices. I deeply long to be a very different person than I am - more transformed by his love, living that love with strength of spirit.

2. It says that John lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.

I thought about all that time he lived in obscurity, doing nothing noteworthy, then suddenly being launched out onto the front lines, eventually to lose his head over the whole thing (literally!). It made me notice how bad I am at living in obscurity. Since I was a young kid I wanted to impact the world deeply. Now, several decades later, I am still waiting.

It strikes me today that the words of God, as well as The Word of God, are still both very alive. And I am thankful, because there is a ton of work to be done on my heart.