The inspiration behind Wilderness Voices was pretty straight forward. In fact, it is embroidered right there on the back of our hats – John 1:23. It reads as follows (NIV):
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet,”I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.'”
(To get a fuller context of this scripture I recommend reading John 1:19-28)
While reading John 1:23, it occurred to me that God desires us all to be “a voice calling in the wilderness.” Since I am included in the “all” who are called, this was not a great revelation, but a simple, powerful truth.
The way I see it, we are all to be “Wilderness Voices.” Because the idea meant so much to me, I thought it might look good on a hat.
My wife thought the design needed to incorporate a tree. With a quick bit of research on the web regarding trees that grow in Israel, we learned that Cypress trees were commonly used for construction purposes during the time of Christ.
That settled it. If it was good enough for The Master Carpenter, it is certainly good enough for us.