Journey from the Desert to Abundance

The poet says,

Is there a desert in your life?

How long has it been?

Is it barren and dry,

is it alone?

Has the desert been a long time?

Are you afraid to count the days?

How is the water supply -

is there enough to eat?

Time goes by,

and faith wanes.

And as one becomes used to the desert

one becomes used to the stay.

There are footprints of those,

who desired to leave.

I don’t know what happened,

I have never seen them again.

Will someone help me,

out of the desert?

Will someone show me the way -

Is there a place for me…in the Garden of the Lord?

Me: It’s awfully dry in the desert today. I try to get by, sitting in the shade, and drinking what little I have left in my water bottle.

Might you have the time? Sorry, I really don’t want to know. It doesn’t matter anyway.

I have been in the desert for so long, I have forgotten that there is anything else but the desert. I mean, you do get used to things. You do get used to going without.

It just gets so hot, at times I forget what it means not to be in the desert. My heart and my mind seem parched; my heart seems as though it has dried as hard as a rock, and my mind…well, let’s say I might have some problems being coherent at times.

There is a temptation to surrender to the desert – you feel that this is all there is – and you wonder if it does any good to fight it.

Not that I haven’t tried to get out of this God-forsaken place. I have prayed and believed. I have tried to change my circumstances. I have done everything to push and hurry it along. I have stood on so many promises. There have been so many times I have tried to end this desert experience.

But, I am still here.

There are footprints of those who ventured out of the desert, but I don’t know what happened to them. Did they get out? Did they make it? Are they OK? I don’t know. No one ever comes back.

You hold on to what you have, because you are afraid of losing anything else. You are even afraid of losing your spot in the desert – at least you know where you are, and you have, well, your own spot.

I guess my heart forgets to pray. My mind has become lazy – I forget to read the Bible. One day goes by, and then the other, until your regular time with the Lord becomes very irregular.

What I’m I to do? It’s hard at times to go to Church while your in the desert. You feel so out of place, and sometimes you don’t seem to fit in. People seem not to want to be around you when things go wrong – they are gone when you need them the most.

You lose so much, you feel like you are going to drown in nothingness.

Who will help me? Will someone lead me out of this desert? Please Lord! Help me!

Whoa! Who are you?

Friend: A friend.

Me: I have never seen you around here before – how did you get here?

Friend: You prayed for help, didn’t you?

Me: Why…yes!

Friend: I am here to help you out of the desert to the abundance that Christ has prepared for you.

Me: I am ready! Let’s go! You can’t believe how long I have waited here, I’ll just grab my stuff…

Friend: We can start right now right where you are, without going anywhere.

Me: What are you talking about? Are you kidding me? It’s so hot and dry…let’s get to that abundance you’re talking about!

Friend: This path out of the desert is through the heart of Christ.

Me: I don’t understand. I just want out of this desert!

Friend: There is a purpose for our time in the desert. The desert is to lead us to the heart of Christ, and the abundance of His love.

I seems as though you are only concerned about an exit strategy, that you seem to shy away from Him.

Me: What are you talking about? I love the Lord, are you kidding me?

Friend: Then why are your prayers only about getting out of the desert? You do pray this incessantly. You seem to ignore everything else; even your closeness and love with Him.

Me: I don’t know, I think I have let my heart get dry and cold.

Friend: Is there anything else?

Me: I see that I sometimes doubt that He loves me. Why am I in this desert? I think I shy away because it seems like He is punishing me.

Friend: Jesus wants you to cling to His heart, and live in the abundance of His love.

Me: I want that abundance! Why am I in this desert?

Friend: As we walk through the desert, we understand the “desert” Jesus walked through for us. Of course we are reminded of His desert experience of 40 days and the resultant temptation. But there is a path that we must walk while in the desert, and this path is the Passion of Christ. We walk with Jesus as He agonizes in Gethsemane, the lashes He endured for us, His crown of thorns, the carrying of His cross and His crucifixion.

Me: But why must I do this?

Friend: As we walk with Jesus through His Passion, we take part in a special way to taste what Christ suffered for us. We understand in a much deeper way the love of Christ for us.

Me: But why do I need the desert for this -

Friend: The desert leads us to Him, as we begin to hunger and thirst for Him. We see in all this barrenness the fountain of His love, forgiveness and blessing. All distractions are being laid aside, sin is confronted…

Me: Sin! Are you saying that there is sin in my life? Look buddy, you don’t even know me, how dare you…

Friend: Whoa – take it easy! Are you telling me that you are sinless?

Me: Well, no.

Friend: I am not talking about condemning yourself, or wallowing in constant wrangling over sin. What I am talking about is letting the Holy Spirit examine our hearts to see if there is any sin we are holding on to, instead of dealing with it. He doesn’t do this to condemn us, He does this because He loves us. There is no fear in His love…

Me: What do you mean?

Friend: We can open our hearts to the Father, unafraid. He already knows what’s there. He has us deal with this stuff so that we may have true abundance. We are unable to enjoy His love if we harbor unforgiveness, anger, greed or lust.

Me: I understand. I guess sometimes I am afraid to look at my faults or my sins because I think He will never let me out of this desert.

Friend: It was His heart of love that lead Him to the Cross, and it is through His heart that you will find your path out of the desert. As we walk with Him in His passion, we let Him help us:

“throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ” Heb 12:1,2.

Me: My heart needs to love again! I have been so involved in my circumstances, I have forgotten to love Him.

Friend: It is through His heart of love that we walk with Him in His Passion, and it is through His heart of love that we walk His path to His resurrection. His heart holds the depths of His love in His triumph and Victory! He raises us to new life! He fills us with His abundance so that our desert is turned into the Garden of the Lord!

Me: How do I start, at times when my heart is so heavy? I don’t think I have the strength. I also carry a lot of hurts – people can be so cruel when you are down.

Friend: You must call to Him, to open your eyes to see and understand His heart. He wants you to! Even if you don’t think you have the strength – the Father will give you all the grace you need. He will strengthen you, all you need to do is ask. We must understand that wants to do this – this is your entrance out of the desert to the Garden of the Lord:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matt 7:7,8

Me: I will do this…I will do this now. I will use this entrance out of the desert…Jesus, open my eyes to see and understand your heart…

to be continued…

More articles of interest:

Scripture Podcast, Judas & links – The Anchoress