Desert Pt 2

In this post I'm continuing a series that I started a few days ago regarding "desert" seasons in our life. In the first two posts I talked about being in a desert that we find ourselves in because of rebellion and lack of faith.

In this post I'd like to talk about what I'll refer to as the "Rite of Passage" Desert. This is the desert that we sometimes are led to by God Himself. This is a desert that we are actually "supposed" to be in. I think there are several purposes for this type of desert experience. I'll try to cover a couple that stand out to me.

Purpose 1: To come to the end of ourselves. This is a place that we MUST come to in order to walk a faith filled life. If we don't decrease so that the Father can increase...we're liable to stay stuck in mediocre land. So we realize in this desert that we aren't enough for ourselves. We realize that Man doesn't live by bread alone...but by the word of the Almighty God. We stop trying to rely on our own cleverness and start looking for God's provision, direction, and protection.

Purpose 2: To prepare us to follow Jesus. Jesus said that anyone who would want to follow Him would have to deny their selfish ambition and take up their own cross. This desert experience is a big fasting experience. One of the things that Christ's desert experience did was prove to his flesh that it was not God. It prepared Him for the ministry that lay ahead. It prepared Him for a homeless, poor, misunderstood life.

Purpose 3: To get us away from all the noise and learn to recognize God's voice again. Think about this: There's no way that I could describe my wife's voice to you with enough detail that you'd actually be able to recognize her if she called you. However, if you talked to my wife on several occasions over the course of a few weeks you'd have "learned" her voice and would recognize it very quickly. After long enough, you'd be able to hear her across a crowded mall. You'd recognize her laugh and probably even her "gasp" or "sigh" from within a crowded room. So it is with God's voice. And the best way to learn what His voice sounds like is to be removed from all the other noise and clutter that's in this world. The desert is still and quiet. Then, you'll be able to recognize God's still small voice even in the midst of the craziness.

So what do you do if you've been led into this desert?

Action points:

A. Realize that this is a controlled experiment. All the factors have been predetermined by God Himself. Nothing comes as a surprise to God.
B. Be willing to "let go" of the parts of yourself that may be getting in the way of you fully pursuing God's will for your life. Let the heat sweat some of the carnality out of you.
C. Listen for God's voice. He's gonna speak to you in this desert. If you're busy freaking out and running in circles hollering for help from everyone you know...you might miss Him even in the desert. Be willing to be quiet and still.

I hope this is encouraging to someone. More to come tomorrow. Feel free to let me know your thoughts.

Johnny