The desert.
Leif and I have been committed to thrive in Salt Lake City for more than a month now.
The heat. The dryness. The dust.
Though we are guests in our friend’s home surrounded by lush vegetation and vibrant flower petals, we are not tricked. We abide in a desert.
Whenever you’re thrust into a desert—geographically, professionally, spiritually, mentally—you learn new skills. I’m becoming convinced, even in our short time here, that the desert is one of the most stunning, beautiful, growth-prone areas we’ve ever lived.
Even when your nose is chalky sunburnt.
Even when your lips crack.
Even when you lose your way.
Even when you want to give up.
As followers of Jesus, we are meant to do more than survive the desert, we are meant to thrive in the desert. But how?
Much of what I’m learning about desert dwelling is derived from a compelling and stunningly written book by Alicia Britt Chole called Anonymous: Jesus Hidden Years and Yours.
Chole writes:
“Many of us avoid lonely spaces because, by definition, deserts are barren. Nothing seems to grow there. But perhaps that is the point. Growth is so very distracting. Deserts are bare, but they are also beautiful. They are empty, but there is healing in their stillness. In those beautifully barren, empty, still spaces, our faith is uncluttered as we rest in God alone.” (p. 142)
Lonely + Barren + Empty = Beautiful + Healing + Rest
God reshapes the landscape of our souls far more in empty and barren than comfy and lush. Or at least that’s what the life of Jesus reminds us.
Forty days in the desert reached a climax when Jesus encountered humanity’s greatest temptations.
Make yourself powerful.
Make yourself remarkable.
Make yourself famous.
Years of study. Years of obedience. Years of hiddenness. All prepared Jesus. But I believe desert dwelling was crucial to Jesus shushing the tempter, exposing the half-truths, avoiding falling for false promises.
The desert played a key role in the life of Christ. It will play a key role in ours, too.
Remember: Where Jesus goes, we will go, too.
We do not need to be afraid of the desert when we walk with God hand in hand.
In the desert…
Jesus saves me from me.
Jesus exposes my lesser priorities.
Jesus pries my fingers of my false idols.
Jesus joins in the sweatbox that renews the joy of my salvation.
I don’t know what kind of desert you find yourself in.
Maybe your desert journey is marked by…
Loneliness
Rejection
Woundedness
Isolation
Fatigue
Silence
Barreness
Brokeness
Pain
Uncertainty
Extreme discomfort
Remember…even in this…Christ invites you deeper…
Deeper into His presence
Deeper into His beauty
Deeper into His healing
Deeper into His trust
Deeper into His rest
Father, for all of us desert dwellers, will you meet us in a personal and profound way today. Give us eyes to recognize the deeper work you’re doing in us and through us. Amen.
To win a copy of Anonymous, simply answer the question: What have your desert dwelling moments taught you about Jesus?
“Many of us avoid lonely spaces because, by definition, deserts are barren. … In those beautifully barren, empty, still spaces, our faith is uncluttered as we rest in God alone.” --Alicia Britt Chole
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