The University of the Wilderness
A Camping Devotional
Naturalist John Muir called wild places "the University of the Wilderness" – places where you learn truths that civilization can't teach. When you're camping, you're enrolled in that university whether you realize it or not.
Notice what happens when you leave your normal environment. Your phone has spotty signal. You can't check email constantly. You can't control the temperature with a thermostat. You can't order food delivery. You can't distract yourself with endless entertainment. What's left is reality – weather, hunger, thirst, your own thoughts.
And in that simplicity, you often learn something. Maybe you discover you're stronger than you thought. Maybe you realize how much you depend on things you take for granted. Maybe you notice that happiness doesn't come from constant stimulation but from simple things – a meal with friends, a view, a comfortable place to sleep.
This is what wilderness teaches. It shows you how creation actually works. It strips away the illusions that civilization creates.
Romans 1:19-20 says: "For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made."
When you're in the wilderness, you're seeing what God made. And what you see teaches you about His character. Mountains teach stability and permanence. Rivers teach persistence and adaptability. Weather teaches humility – you can't control it. Ecosystems teach interdependence – everything relies on everything else.
Psalm 19:1-4 says: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge... Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."
Creation is constantly communicating God's character. You just have to listen.
Tomorrow's Practice: Tomorrow, spend fifteen minutes in complete silence in nature – no phone, no conversation, just observation. Notice what you see and what it might teach you about God. Write down one thing creation teaches you about His character.