Some of the most important events in the Bible take place in the desert.  Moses led the nation of Israel through a desert wilderness for 40 years.  Abraham sent Hagar and her son into the wilderness with hardly enough food to survive.  John, the Baptist spent his time preaching his message of repentance in the wilderness.  Jesus, the Messiah, was tempted by the devil in the desert and overcame him. The Apostle Paul endured 3 years in the desert with Jesus, before he began his public ministry.  Interesting too, that three years is the same amount of time Jesus spent teaching his twelve disciples. Each of those incidents strengthened the individuals going through them.

Usually, we think of a desert as a place of emptiness, with no chance of survival.  The literal translation of the word refers to a place without inhabitants – a world alone, away from civilization.  There are days when we need alone time to put things back into perspective and that’s why I think the Bible refers to the wilderness so many times. Even Jesus needed His time in the wilderness.

Do you focus too much on the meaningless and let the important things slide? Are you facing relationship problems, health issues, financial difficulties, anxiety, fear or worry? I don’t think there’s a time in anyone’s life where they don’t experience their own personal desert.  The wilderness can drain your spirit.  You can become so rundown that even death looks good to you.  Your body strains to survive.  You thirst and hunger.  It seems like the last place we would want to be – ever.  When you feel there’s no way out, it can even tempt you into hopelessness.

Remember that God is with you all the time. He arms us with His power and strength.  He guides us through the difficult times.  Sometimes He even punches us and remolds us so that we return to Him. He may even crush us, before He can restore us. He wants us to become totally dependent on Him and to realize that He has our backs. If you’re in the middle of a wilderness, hang on to it with all your might, because it’s for your good.  God will always provide a way out.

“Storms of every sort, torrents, earthquakes, cataclysms, ‘convulsions of nature,’ etc., however mysterious and lawless at first sight they may seem, are only harmonious notes in the song of creation, varied expressions of God’s love.” John Muir