The
deserts of our lives are not pleasant pilgrimages that we journey through at leisure. Most
often when we think of a desert, we think of a place that is inhospitable, harsh
and fraught with hardship, and the potential of danger. A desert exists
geologically as a place where nothing useful grows to sustain life. A few animals can
survive there, but for humans, it is a place to avoid, not head toward.
Personal Life Deserts are harsh emotional wastelands, void of
vital resources when needed, and have the capacity to break our spirit. In
Scripture, many times, the use of the word desert, wilderness, wasteland or dry
land is interchangeable. Deserts are places that you
travel through, when you have no other way to get to where you need to be. Deserts
are real, and they are, tough places to traverse. In a symbolical sense,
they illustrate those hard, seemingly unprofitable times when our lives are
stymied, on hold, or we are spiritually as dry as a mummy’s breath.
As
a shepherd and soldier, David spent a lot of time in the dry wildernesses of Judah. He often found
the need to flee to the desert during times of threat and personal crisis. When he
served under King Saul and was suspicious of treachery, David fled to where he had the best chance to find a hiding place.
In
the Desert of Ziph
In
the Desert Of Edom
On one of David’s many forays into the wilderness, he was being pursued by his son Absalom, and his life was in peril. David went into the desert to find a safe haven, and discovered that amidst the turmoil, hardship and deprivation, his longing for God became an intense and insatiable reality. Deserts have a way of separating us from our natural comforts, and they strip us of the barest of life’s essentials.
On one of David’s many forays into the wilderness, he was being pursued by his son Absalom, and his life was in peril. David went into the desert to find a safe haven, and discovered that amidst the turmoil, hardship and deprivation, his longing for God became an intense and insatiable reality. Deserts have a way of separating us from our natural comforts, and they strip us of the barest of life’s essentials.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:2
In the desert, God can speak to us in ways that He can in no other place. Be it under
a mound of unresolved problems, painful discouraging long term health issues, a
broken marriage, years of depression, or seasons of dissatisfying spiritual dryness,
the desert creates a pilgrimage process, that has but one purpose: to
lead us into a deeper life with God.
The Desert Creates a
Thirst for God
After
days
of wandering in the barren wilderness, David trekked deep into the
wasteland of the Valley of Baca. The interpretation of Baca (bacah) in
the Hebrew could be translated, “The valley of weeping.” It was a dry
lonely desolate place. As life became more desperate
for David, his heart began to thirst for God.
“How lovely (Beloved) is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the
courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry
out for the living God.” Psalm 84:1
This
was not a muffled sob coming from David but a shrill longing cry from
an anguished heart. The word that is here rendered cry, is from the
Hebrew, that signifies to shout, or cry out with great emotion, as
soldiers do at the beginning of a battle.
While
in the wilderness, with every labored step, he was longing for and crying out to be near to God.
“Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest
for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar.” Psalm 84:3
The reawakening of spiritual thirst happens in the midst of adversity, not because of adversity. Trials will not produce revival within our hearts, neither will correct moral responses or behavior. It is as we draw near to God, that He draws near to us. In that synergistic moment we are touched by God and we are changed, and are never the same.
The reawakening of spiritual thirst happens in the midst of adversity, not because of adversity. Trials will not produce revival within our hearts, neither will correct moral responses or behavior. It is as we draw near to God, that He draws near to us. In that synergistic moment we are touched by God and we are changed, and are never the same.
“ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8
The Desert Ignites a Need to Praise God
There
is something profoundly powerful and deeply moving, when our heart reaches up
to praise God in the darkest night in our personal desert. When God hears the heart inspired
praises of a Christian in the desert, it pleases Him for it is the epitome of
trusting faith.
“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:18
When
David feigned madness before King Abimelech, and he hid in the dark lonely desert
caves at Adullam, he wrote Psalm 34, with a key emphasis on praising God in the
midst of adversity. (See I Samuel 22:1-2; Psalm 142:4-7)
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1
That
is
why David was so moved to praise God in the desert valley of Baca,
because he
recognized that wherever he was, God was there with Him. In the desert
he began to recognize that the God of the Burning Bush, had become the
God of the Burning Heart.
“O Lord
Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they
are ever praising you. Selah” Psalm
84:3b-4
The Desert Stirs is a
Hunger to Know God
Tough
times stir the heart to become bitter and disheartened, or they stir the heart to
a hunger to know God more deeply. For David, the journey through the Valley of
Baca, could only be done with the strength of God. Spiritual strength came in
the midst of the valley as he passed through it, not before he entered it.
“As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they
make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They
go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” Psalm 84:5-7
The Desert Awakens the Heart to Worship God
There
is no more comforting a place than on our knees worshiping God before the
Throne of Grace. Everything else fades into silence while our heartbeat harmonizes
with His Heartbeat, our purpose aligns with His purpose, and our will responds
in obedience to His will. That most often happens in the midnight of our own Gethsemane.
“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the Throne of Grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
In
the
desert David was humbled by the majesty of God, and he experienced His
presence while in the isolated barrenness of the desert. As he
experienced the presence of God, and renewed his absolute trust in God,
he could only bow his head and pray,
“Hear my prayer, O Lord
God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a
thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than
dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord
God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor
and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. (Beloved)
O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who
trusts in you.” Psalm 84:8-12
Thirst Praise Know
Worship
The
more we Thirst for God, the more we will begin to Praise Him, and the more we
Praise Him, the more we will hunger to Know Him, and the more we get to know
Him, the more we long to Worship Him.
When you are in the desert remember that you are not alone...He is there, and it is not your strength that will get you through it but His.
Take a few moments and reflect upon the meaningful and encouraging message in this song, "Find you on m Knees" by Kari Jobe
When you are in the desert remember that you are not alone...He is there, and it is not your strength that will get you through it but His.
Take a few moments and reflect upon the meaningful and encouraging message in this song, "Find you on m Knees" by Kari Jobe
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