Just like any other journey, we will encounter a variety of scenes and a host of environments. Personally, I enjoy traveling through lush areas that are filled with trees, streams, and wildlife. I even enjoy traveling through vast expanses of fertile farm land where there is an abundance of new life that will sustain many. The areas that I don't particularly care for are the barren deserts and wastelands.
I have learned that the ministry that God has called me is a journey which encounters all of the scenes I have described above, and more. In fact, sometimes I find myself reminded of the old America song that has the lyrics, "I've been through the desert on a horse with no name."
The desert spans of life are the places where many of us will falter, fail, and be tempted to surrender in our journey. God will at times, in His purpose, lead us into a desert to help us learn to rely upon Him. God revealed this truth to the children of Israel in their wilderness journey, "So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them," (Exodus 15:22-25).
It was God that led them into the place of no water. The people complained and God turned the bitter water of Marah into water fit to drink. That could be seen as the end of the story, but God reveals more details: "And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters." (Exodus 15:27) Just a short distance from the scene of their complaining was Elim, a place with twelve wells of waters and seventy palm trees. Had they simply traveled on, they would have been able to enjoy the bounty that God had in store for them without the drama and doubt.
Sometimes ministry can seem to be like lush tropical forests with a proliferation of new life, and at other times it can seem as if we are stuck in a desert that seems endless as we gaze toward the horizon. When we are in the desert times of life, we have to make a choice. We can simply give up and our bleached bones will be a testimonial to what could have been. We can gripe and complain and God can make the bitter water tolerable to us. We can trust God and faithfully journey on. If our confidence is in the leadership and power of God, then there will be an oasis ahead. Also, no desert lasts forever. The Sahara is a massive desert, but the jungles and grasslands of the African continent await if you travel far enough.
Do you feel as if you are in a desert? Travel on, it eventually will end. Are you dry and thirsty? Go to God in faith, He waits to refresh us "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses." (Isaiah 44:3-4).
Life is a journey. Travel on, the desert will end!
