“A voice crying out in the wilderness…”
Locusts and Honey is a blog space started by Josh Douglass. It’s one part journal-type ramblings, and another part learning environment. Henri Nouwen, in his book on Christian leadership, says “Laying down your life means making your own faith and doubt, hope and despair, joy and sadness, courage and fear available to others as ways of getting in touch with the Lord of Life.”
I pray this site is an encouragement to those who find it. Keep scrolling to read the entries, learn more about the name and author, or subscribe.
The Story: why Locusts and Honey?
One of my personal heroes in scripture is John the Baptist. There’s much to admire about the man who heralded the coming Messiah. Isaiah prophesied one day there would be “A voice [that] cries: ’In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken’” (Isaiah 40:3-5, ESV). Every gospel writer attributes this voice to John as he preached throughout Judea “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand” (Matt. 3:2, ESV).
John was an interesting guy - he was born under unlikely circumstances to a mother beyond childbearing years, he baptized and heard the confession of thousands, and stood so firmly on God’s Word that he was willing to actively stand up to the Jewish establishment of the day…but he also wore camel hide for clothes, and ate for nourishment: Locusts and Honey. I love an oddball - that friend who thinks fast and doesn’t fit in any predictable cultural box, but whose convictions run strong, and evidently thinks and cares deeply about how they order their steps.
I’ve come to identify with John as my life progresses. Not in his greatness, or even in his faithfulness, but as God breaks down the natural pride of a 20-something’s man, I find myself echoing the sentiment of the Baptizer to say there is one coming whose sandals I am not worthy to even carry. If you need me, find me in the wilderness with the camel hair, eating the bugs and honey, talking about Jesus to anyone who will listen.