Learning to depend on God is the first and primary lesson of the wilderness. Until we learn that, we cannot move toward maturity. Often, anxiety and lack of control are key components of our journey, just as they were for Israel. However, God meets us in the wilderness to show us that we can depend on Him.

Developing a rule of life is foundational to life as an apprentice of Jesus. However, it's still a means, not an end. We are called to be a community of love and move toward maturity, which is measured by loving as Jesus does. A rule of life that doesn't lead us toward love is a lot of effort with no real reward. Jesus is still the goal.

Conspicuous by its absence in many of the lives of followers of Jesus is the presence of joy. Yet it was one of the things that Jesus said would mark those who abide in Him, and it is chief among the fruit of those who are walking in step with the Spirit. How do we enter into the joy of Jesus? Or maybe better said, how do we not miss out on the joy that is rightfully ours in Christ? The answer is found in engaging the ancient rhythm of celebration.

Part of a healthy rule of life is an honest wrestling with the brokenness of the world around us. Those we love get hurt, people and situations disappoint us, and much of life does not go as we have planned. Lament is a vitally important action that allows the fullness of joy in our lives. Lament has a beginning and an end and, when accomplished, gives way to real joy.

As created beings, we must learn to embrace the fact that we have limits. Jesus left many things undone, and yet, He accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do. We must do the same. This can only happen when we come to grips with the fact that God has created us with limits, even though we live in the midst of a world that seems limitless.

It's not just the hurry of the modern world that pulls us away from the life of Jesus… it's the sheer noise. While the noises in our modern world are admittedly different, this isn't a new problem. Jesus modeled for us a rhythm of retreat into silence that allowed Him to regain the Father's perspective for His life and world. We are called to do the same.

The pull of hurry is possibly the greatest enemy of the spiritual life, and the digital world stokes this fire of hurry while sabotaging attentiveness to the way of Jesus. When we learn to take refuge in God and allow firm lines to be drawn, we find that true fulfillment comes from Him alone.

Using the metaphor of a vine, the call of Jesus is that we abide in Him. In the midst of a world filled with smartphones, hurry, and all forms of digital and tangible distraction, how can we obey this call? The answer comes in the form of another metaphor: a trellis, or as the ancients called it, a "rule of life." By establishing a rule of life, personally and communally, we establish a framework to abide in Christ.

Developing a rule of life is less about the activities that we do than it is about the loves and desires that act as the foundation of our lives. The world around us often teaches us that we're at the mercy of our desires and that our loves are just animalistic urges. However, both the Bible and the history of the church teach us that we are able to curate our desires through the way that we live.