Incoming tourists flying into Australia feel a bit disoriented after waking to an airline breakfast, knowing that it’s bedtime back in the UK or the EU. Down in the vast Outback 10,000m below, however, waking up knowing you are lost is a matter of survival.
Although most Aussies cling to the coastline and prefer a wade in the surf to a walk in the wild, we do know how to survive when lost in the bush. Getting lost will not mean staying lost if you follow this simple parallel guide to survival — one that works as well spiritually as it does naturally.
Did you know that lost people walk in circles? This is because each of us has one leg slightly shorter than the other, which is why, after lost people lose direction, they walk in ever decreasing circles. This oddity might not matter in the Big City, but in the Outback it means you’re going nowhere, and that can be fatal.
In spiritual terms this scenario means that when the drab landscape of your life becomes all too familiar — “the same old same old” — you are going nowhere. The circle of your existence will become ever smaller over time. But a spiritual life brings with it a keen sense of direction.
When lost in the bush, the first rule for survival is to stay put. If you were sensible enough to let someone know where you were going, you’ll likely be found. If you need to search for food or water, identify a prominent feature in the landscape — a high hill or a twisted tree — and keep it in sight while you search.
If you are lost and alone without food or water, before trying to find your way, line up three identifiable features, such as a dead tree, a rocky outcrop and a distant hill. When you reach the first, find another feature beyond the other two and in line with them to replace it. Doing this as you go will help maintain direction and prevent you from walking in circles.
The Israelites lost their spiritual direction and wandered aimlessly in the desert, burying their dead along the way. They circled Mt Seir, aging each time endlessly. What a waste of time! For 40 years their birth rate barely kept pace with their death rate. Only when the last unbeliever among them died did God permit the new generation to enter the Promised Land.
Are you wandering aimlessly through life with no direction or purpose? Line up your direction with the words of Jesus. The Cross is the central landmark. Ask God to forgive you for living the sinful, aimless life that caused you to lose direction.
Then line up your life with the truths that the Lord Jesus taught in the Gospels and the apostle Paul wrote in the Book of Romans. This will help you keep direction. Also, look for a Bible-based church that practices faith in practical ways.
Another rule when lost is to follow only those tracks that come together. Never leave a well-trodden path to follow a little-used one. It stands to reason that where a number of tracks converge, the well-travelled wider track formed will lead you to a farm or a town. After finding a wide, well-travelled track avoid taking any less used one that will likely lead nowhere.
Amazingly, many do exactly that by following strange teachings that lead away from God’s will for their lives, i.e. the main track, in spite of the clear direction in the New Testament. Some seek a belief system that will tell them what they want to hear, rather than one that will teach them what they need to know.
Cults are like minor bush tracks, in that they lead believers away from New Testament teachings along little-used tracks that lead up blind gullies (or draws, as Americans call them). Stick to a well-trodden track to a local church that has a clear vision and mainstream New Testament teaching. That way, you won’t end up in the cult equivalent of a backwater billabong.
Thirsty but can’t find water? The rule in the bush is: Water is where water was. Meaning that in the deepest hollow of a dry creek or waterhole you’re likely to find enough water to keep you alive — but you may have to dig for it.
When the Israelites thirsted for water, God told Moses: “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” (Numbers 21:16) He then told them to sing a strange song to the out-of-sight water! They sang, “Spring up, well!” (Literally, “Spring up in response to this song!”) While they sang, Moses directed the leaders to dig the ground with their rods of authority. The leaders dug while the people sang to the well God said was there!
In the Bible, water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, “a well springing up into everlasting life” in everyone who believes. (John 14:14) How to access the inner wellspring of the Holy Spirit? For some it may be through a line or a verse from an old hymn learned back in childhood. For others it will be the memory of a spiritual experience gained at a youth camp during their teen years. For still others, it may be a gospel verse that you never quite forgot — even though others long ago faded from memory.
So, sing to that hidden spring, ”Spring up, O well!” Dig through the hard, outer crust of your spiritually dry life. Sing while you dig, and dig while you sing! In the Christian life there may be times when your only hope of spiritual survival will be the Spirit of God within you, so learn to ‘sing to the spring’! Water is where water was — you just need to locate it within you!
When you do, that inner spring will renew your spiritual life. “Be [being] filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:18) Sing to the spring within you, and soon you’ll be singing in the Spirit, which will satisfy your spiritual thirst and increase it for more of God.
In the Southern Hemisphere, moss grows on the south side of a tree, where the bark gets less light and less heat. In the same hemisphere the way to find North is to point the numeral 12 on your wristwatch towards the sun. Halfway between 12 and the hour hand is North. In the Northern Hemisphere it may be different.
There are other rules for bush — and spiritual — survival. The good news is that they can be found in the pages of your Bible. The God who led His people through a wilderness will keep you safely on track throughout your life and beyond into eternity. Those who know their way through the pages of the Bible will find their way home — even if at times they may appear to have lost direction.
Back in the 1950s, I entered an untouched forest with nothing more than a .22 calibre rifle slung over my shoulder and a tomahawk gripped in one hand. I used the latter to mark trees along my way over the valley rim and down into the forest. I mention this so that my readers will know that what I have written above has come not from reading books but from practical knowledge gained through personal experience. — in both the bush and the Bible.