A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Isaiah 40:3
It’s only in the desert where you can truly hear God’s voice. And it’s only in the desert where God hears you most. Because it’s in the deserts of our lives where we are closest to Him.
The deserts prepare us. They shape us. They break us down so that we can let God enter our soul. I’ve experienced God a lot in my life – but it is those times in the desert when I was down, when I wasn’t sure where I was going or how I was going to find my way out where I experienced Him the deepest, where a path was literally cleared for Him to enter my soul, for my life to become better, and for my heart to be filled with His grace.
We all have these deserts in our lives, these times of dryness, a trial. Whether it’s spiritual, or a depression, or an illness, a death of a loved one, or an addiction – we’ve all had these deserts we have to traverse from time to time.
We may ask God, “Why? Why do I have to go through this? Why does my wife or child have to go through this? Or why does this need to happen to that person?” I’m not going to pretend to try and answer this in this reflection or any other, because none of us truly can. It is a mystery why things happen in the way that they do and I am not even going to attempt to try to explain why.
I can tell you with certainty is that when you are in these deserts of your life, it is as if you are alone, and that you cannot hear anything or anyone around you. You may not see anything on the horizon. It’s just dry, barren ground as far as you can see, the waves of heat reverberating off the ground. This is how life can get sometimes.
Sometimes we’re overcome with trials in life where we feel like we’re in a desert – career issues, depression, addiction, family issues, pain, anger and hate. In these times, we feel we are far away from anyone and anything, and that there is no one there with us. And in a sense, this is true. Often in these times, we may even lose hope. God may seem so far away, or non-existent.
But I can also say with certainty is that in these times, God has never been closer to us. And if you find yourself in a desert like this, that if you hold true to Him, and trust in His guidance, even if you don’t understand, or you can’t see anything on the horizon, or even what you do see turns out to be a mirage, God will help you prepare the way for Him to enter you very heart and soul.
These times in the desert are times for growth.
But you have to do what Isaiah says today, you have to pave the way, and remove those barriers to let God enter you. It’s only in these deserts where this truly happens, and where we hear Him speak to us. And in these times, God often places people in your life that help you to remove these barriers and straighten the path for Him to enter.
This is why I love the desert, I really do. Literally, every time I’ve hiked in the desert, whether it’s the sand or the rocks, any sound is muffled and there is a silence like no other. You hear nothing, yet at the same time your hear any little sound – the rustling of your shoes in the dirt as you take steps, the sound of your hand as you grab hold to rocks, I’ve always loved the desert.
It’s just you and the desert. You can hear yourself think. And if you’re with someone else, you can clearly and crisply hear one another in a way that you cannot in other places. I’m not saying I want to live in it – but I like my visits.
Such is the deserts in our lives. And I’ve come to love those deserts too. Yes, they are tough and unpleasant, but I know that when I encounter a desert in my life – a time of trial – this is Christ telling me to come to Him, that He wants to draw me closer, that He wants to speak to me. This is Him telling me that, while I cannot see the big picture – He can. There is something to be gained from even the worst tragedy, and that is a closer, deeper, relationship with Christ, and faith and more importantly – a hope – in Him. An ultimate trust.
We cannot grow in the regard when things are going well and we’re comfortable. Because we’re human. We will get prideful and think we’ve got it all figured out. We’ll stop talking and listening to God because we get to a point where we think we don’t need His help. This is just human nature.
We need these deserts to balance, and purify, and purge any pride and selfishness and sin that is within us. Perhaps these deserts increase our prayer life, perhaps they led us to repent and forgive, and most definitely they allow us to communicate with God in a way like no other, both in hearing Him speak to us and how we speak to Him.
Yes, in a weird way, I’ve come to love the deserts in my life. I don’t go looking for them, but I know that when I am in one that Jesus is closer to me than ever, that the Holy Spirit is engulfing me with Love and grace, and that God has something to tell me.
And so in the heat of these deserts, I slow down, let Him speak, and listen to His Voice. And in turn, He truly hears mine.
IS 40:1-5, 9-11; PS85; 2 PT 3:8-14; MK 1:1-8
