Tag Archives: rivers in the desert

July 11, 2023 · 5:43 AM

Water In The Wilderness

When I was young, I loved the poem “Footprints In The Sand”. It tells of a person looking back on their life and seeing two sets of footprints. In the hardest times, there was only one set in the sand. They questioned why the Lord would leave them during the hardest times, but He replied that there was one because He carried them. Having been through some difficult times, I’ve learned that God doesn’t carry us in those times. I’ve also learned that it is normal to feel alone and even abandoned by God when we’re in the wilderness. What I do like in the poem is the idea of reflecting on the past. When we look back at the hardest times, we can see we were never abandoned by God, nor were we alone. He often uses those times to draw us close and even shows up in unexpected ways to meet our needs. The wilderness is often the path to growth.

In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah had literally had a mountain top experience. God had met him on Mount Carmel and sent fire from Heaven to burn his sacrifice. Israel began to turn from their false gods to serve the Lord. However, Jezebel wasn’t happy and wanted to kill him for it. His fear led him into the wilderness where depression took over. He wanted to die and felt alone. While he was sleeping an angel brought him food and water. He rested and the angel brought more. From there, he continued deeper into the wilderness and stayed in a cave where it was dark. Again God called to him and asked him what he was doing. He gave God a sob story about how bad his life was. God then called him out of the cave in the wilderness where he saw an mighty wind, an earthquake and a fire. All great signs, but God wasn’t in them. Then there was a still, small voice that God was in. Elijah found God in the smallest of moments in the wilderness rather than in big ones.

Isaiah 35:4-6 says, “Tell everyone who is discouraged, ‘Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue, coming to punish your enemies.’ The blind will be able to see, and the deaf will hear. The lame will leap and dance, and those who cannot speak will shout for joy. Streams of water will flow through the desert” (GNT). If you’re in the wilderness right now wondering where God is, He is on the way to rescue you! He will cause stress to flow in your difficult time and make it a place of growth. You may be struggling to see Him now or even feel Him, but He is there caring for you and leading you through this time. When you look back at this period you will see how the still, small voice led you to a place of abundance. You are not forgotten. You are not forsaken. You are not alone. There is water in your wilderness.

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June 16, 2021 · 5:52 AM

Life In The Desert

In the mid 1990’s, I moved to Cairo, Egypt. As the plane landed, I looked out the window. I was shocked to see that there wasn’t any grass on the medians between the runway. On the drive to my new home, I was overwhelmed by the sea of tan dirt all around me. The Sahara Desert was my first culture shock having lived in a lush green area of East Texas my whole life. However, over time, I grew used to living in the desert and the lack of green vegetation. Then, early the year after I moved there, I decided to take a bus to Israel. We drove for hours through the desert until we came to the border. As I got out to walk across, I saw the strangest thing ever. All along the border there was a line of grass and flowers in the middle of this desert and it extended into Israel. It was an incredible sight to see life growing in the middle of a barren land.

The reason deserts lack life is because they lack water. Over 90% of Egyptians live along the Nile river because that’s the only way they can sustain life. Sure, there are people who live in the desert, but life is better and more easily sustained where there is water. Even along the Nile, I hadn’t seen what I saw at the border that day. Things were thriving at the border. It reminded me that God is able to do the impossible. He can grow life in the middle of nowhere and in the harshest environments. He is able to take our roughest, driest patches in life and spring up new life. He is able to take what looks like an end and create a new beginning. The desert we’re temporarily living in has the potential for life.

In Isaiah 43:18-19 God says, “Do not remember the former things, Or ponder the things of the past. Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert” (AMP). I believe God is still speaking to us through these verses. The desert you’ve been in is about to burst forth with life. It starts with us forgetting the things of the past that led us into the desert. We need to focus our attention on what God is doing right now in this dry season. He’s creating a pathway forward for you and bringing a river of life to your situation. What has been a barren time for you is about to be teeming with life. God does not abandon us in the desert and He’s able to make a way where there seems to be no way. Trust in Him, don’t lean on your own understanding, acknowledge what He’s doing and He will direct your path through this time (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Photo by danial Sol on Unsplash

Be Patient And Wait

One of the hardest things for me to do is to be patient while God is at work on my behalf. I live by the motto, “Work like it depends on you. Pray like it depends on God.” But there are seasons, like the one I’m in now, where God is at work and He says, “Be still and be patient.” Everything in me wants to jump up and do something as if God needs my help. There’s a line in “Way Maker” that resonates with me right now. It says, “Even when I don’t see it, you’re working. Even when I don’t feel it, you’re working. You never stop working.” Faith is truly about trusting that God is at work when you don’t see it or feel it. It’s about being patient in the waiting knowing that God is going to bless you according to a His goodness and not your good works.

I don’t think Abraham was much different. God was at work, but he couldn’t see it. God had promised him a son when he was 75. Ten years later, there still wasn’t a son and he was getting older. He decided to help God out and married Hagar, his wife’s handmaiden. But when she got pregnant, God let him know that wasn’t what He promised. Sarah would give him a son, but Abraham had to wait another 15 years. That’s a long time to be patient and to trust God to fulfill a promise, especially when your physical condition, or things around you, are telling you the possibility is going down daily. Yet God still requires us to have faith and to be patient.

Psalm 37:7 says, “Be patient and wait for the Lord to act” (GNT). I understand that having patience and waiting on God is tough. It can feel like you’re missing the boat and that you need to do something to make it happen. Learn from Abraham though. If God has promised it, trust Him to fulfill it in His timing, not yours. Even when you see the window of opportunity closing, trust anyway. God does not need our help. He is able. If He can speak the universe into existence, surely He can say the word and turn your impossible situation around. If He can give Abraham a son at 100 years old, He can make a way where there seems to be no way. It’s in the waiting that our faith is stretched and we are prepared for greater things. Don’t give up too early or try to jump in and help. Be patient and wait on the Lord.

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September 30, 2019 · 5:58 AM

Stuck In Your Story

My friend tells people, “Don’t get stuck in your story,” when someone is constantly living in the past. You’re stuck in your story when you allow your past pain to rob you of your present. Yes, it happened. Yes, it was and is painful, but if you allow it to consume you, it will rob you of a life that God wants to give you. I spent a lot of time living in the pain of the past instead of in the present. I couldn’t seem to get unstuck. The pain was becoming my identity, so I grew to need it. What I didn’t realize was that it had caused me to quit paying attention to my present and stopped all my progress. I didn’t get unstuck until a friend looked me in the eye and said, “You’ve given up and you’re in a rut. This isn’t who you are, and I don’t want to see you like this.” All of a sudden I saw that I was stuck and I decided to make changes to get unstuck.

In Isaiah 43:18-19, God says, “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present” (MSG). If we keep living in past pains, we will miss what God is trying to do now. I can tell you that the pain of your past can be used for good once you allow yourself to heal. I don’t know why we have to go through painful times that feel like they’re going to crush us. I do know that it’s part of God’s process in getting us to His promise. Just like a grape that’s crushed can never become wine unless it’s moved from the press to the vat, you and I can never fulfill our purpose until we move from the pain to the next part of the process.

Everyone has a past. Everyone. But everyone also has a present. Everyone. If you’re stuck in your story, you can’t move on to the next part of the process that God is trying to do in your life. Acknowledge your pain. It’s real. It happened, but if you live there going over it over and over, you will never heal. Change your routine. Change your habits. Stop dwelling on what happened. You can’t change that. You can change your future though if you will be present in this moment and ask God to help you move to the next part of the process. Everything that’s happened in your life can be used for your good. God wants to do a new thing in your life, but you have to get unstuck and be present for Him to do it. He will make rivers in your desert and bring new life to the dry places of your life.

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