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I know that some may think of the “desert” negatively, perhaps as being a time in life of great spiritual dryness or personal darkness or perhaps even moral backsliddenness. There is of course no official Biblical definition of what this condition we refer as “the desert” is. I have come to think of the desert differently over the years. Rather than a condition resulting from failure, I have come to think of the desert as a condition resulting from obedience, and as a test of further obedience. Indeed, I think of the desert or wilderness as where we’re left (or what we’re left with) when we have been obedient to God. Are we willing to go there, to the desert, in obedience to God? Are we willing to say “no” to false temptations to leave the desert and thus disobey or fail to trust God? The physical desert is a place of loneliness. It is a place of danger, or wild beasts and extremes of hot and cold. It is a place of desolation where the normal means of life and sustenance are gone. To be cast physically into the desert, as was Israel after their exodus from Egypt, is to be thrown solely upon the mercy of God for protection, sustenance, and guidance. In that physical desert the decision is whether to stay in the desert and trust the Lord, or leave the desert and go back to Egypt. The physical desert is a place of outer desolation. But it holds the possibility of deep fellowship with God, and thus the possibility of life, real life, itself. Will we cling to that hope or will we go back to Egypt. None of us will likely ever be thrown into the physical desert as was Israel. But in our daily lives we experience similar desert experiences. The desert is the place in life where it’s just us and God. It’s the place where we either trust in the lord for sustenance, protection, and guidance, or we look to other sources of the same. The desert is the place we are left when we say no to sin and yes to the Lord, when we say no to Egypt and yes to the mercy of God. the desert is where the normal (or desired) means of emotional and personal sustenance are kicked away. It is a place where we say we will either live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God or we will perish. It is the place where we have thrown in out lot with our God and we either are sustained by Him or we are empty. The desert is the choice we make to be empty so that God Himself will fill us. The desert is where we’re left we have chosen to trust and obey. This desert for most of us as I look at it is where we are left when we are truly obedient. What are some practical examples of this? The desert is where we’re left when we cease from work one day in seven. It is saying we will trust the Lord to provide for our needs through the six days he gives for work and study. The temptation is to say no to his will and to back to Egypt, to fall back upon comfortable ways of taking our lives into our own hands. Will we choose to be sustained in the desert or will we go back to Egypt? The desert is where we are left when we agree in obedience to live within our means. Choosing to live in that desert is saying that we will choose to be content with what we can possess and enjoy what He has provided for us day to day. It is saying no to the thing we want or crave or desire, that we think is so needful for our contentment, happiness, or gratification. Will we choose to be sustained by God in the desert or will we go back to Egypt? The desert for married men is where we are left when we commit to physical, mental, and emotional faithfulness to our wives. This desert is the pain that we experience when saying no to temptation. We look to the Lord to fill us and meet our needs as we turn from our tendency to look, imagine, desire. The desert is the pain of saying no to sexual variety and yes to faithfulness to our wives. Will we choose to be sustained by God in the desert or will we go back to Egypt? The desert for married women is where they are left when they understand that their husbands can never completely meet their range of intimacy needs. Their desert is the pain of intimacy needs unmet, the pain of saying no to seeking to have those needs met in relationships with other men. In the occasional desolateness of that emotional desert, it is agreeing to seek God alone for sustenance and comfort. Will we choose to be sustained by God in the desert or will we go back to Egypt? The desert is where we are left when we commit to learning to love as Jesus has loved us, befriending others for their sake instead of looking for friends for us. Lest we be naïve, there is an emotional void when we decide not to use people to meet our needs. This is the void that we choose to let God fill. This is the emptiness we embrace as we look to see how he will cause His love, and yes, even blessed relationships to grow where their once was a void. In this desert we wait upon the Lord and let Him choose how and when to bless us with relationships that delight our hearts. Will we choose to be sustained by God in the desert or will we go back to Egypt? The desert is where we’re left when we choose not to nurture bitterness and anger. This desert is the need to take matters into our own hands, to seek justice ourselves, to hold on to bitterness and anger, to gossip or speak against a neighbor or brother. It is the void of being left crying out to the Lord and letting Him exercise his judgment in His time and in His way. It is the void we feel when we choose to love and pray for our enemies. Will we choose to be sustained by God in the desert or will we go back to Egypt? The desert is where we’re left when we choose to love our spouses and children rather than succumb to the pressing needs of the flesh for rest and downtime. It is the emptiness and exhaustion we feel at the end of a long day when we want to press the off button, retreat into our cave, and turn on the TV, when we can’t bear to read a story or converse or help with homework or whatever. Will we allow the Lord’s strength to manifest through our emptiness? Will we choose to be sustained by God in the desert or will we go back to Egypt? The desert is where we’re left when we commit to being people of truth no matter what the consequence. where you’re left when you tithe where you’re left when you agree not to gossip where you’re left when you pay your taxes where you’re left when you’re honest where you’re left when you keep your promises where you’re left when you trust God to vindicate you So, be obedient, and expect blessing from God’s Spirit, but expect also times of trial, or testing, to see if you can and will walk by faith, and not by sight. |
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