The Desert
The word the Lord has placed on my heart for this year is “path”. The verse – Psalm 16:11 – “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.”
Over and over again I have heard the Holy Spirit whisper these words into my heart. It seems such an easy thing to do, just follow where the Lord leads. However, I confess that in recent weeks I have let go of His hand and wandered off down a different path – one of my own choosing. I took my eyes off Him, focused intently on my circumstances and found myself wandering around in a desert.
It wasn’t long before I felt the affects of separation from the Living Water. I was parched; the heavens seemed like brass; my joy and my hope turned to despair.
I felt so much as though I was wandering through a desert, I looked up information on how to survive such an experience. Two of the tips were to search for shade and look for water. One good place to find both, it said, is at the base of rock cliffs. There will be a place of shelter beneath the rocky cliffs. When I read about that, I thought of the words in Psalm 91: “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” This is the place I needed to be – resting in His shadow. I can only be in His shadow if I am close to Him. I shouldn’t have wandered off.
It is likely that I will find water there as well. If I go to the Rock, He will provide life-giving water. Jesus said in John 4:13-14 “…those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
In Jeremiah 2:13 the Lord says, “For my people have done two evil things; they have abandoned me – the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” That is just what I had done. I had abandoned Him and tried going it on my own. I was left with “cracked cisterns” that provided me nothing that could quench my thirst. I let fear and doubt lead me to a place of desolation.
The amazing, miraculous part is I don’t have to stay there. He beckons with out-stretched hand and calls me to come and walk with Him once again. His grace and mercy overwhelm my heart, and I step back onto the path – the path of His choosing.
These feet have boasted more desert roads than I can count. But it’s in the desert I have noticed my thirst and thankfully, the dry now leads me to drink from Living Water rather than a cup from any other well.
The desert is as scary or formiddable if we know where to find our rest. Sounds like you have done this very thing.
peace~elaine
Okay, Linda, you’ve got me in tears again – this is so very beautiful and real and wise. I truly wish we could get together and talk! Wouldn’t that be awesome? I could never live in the desert – and would be afraid to be out there alone. Thank the Lord we don’t have to be!
Wow, Linda,
He beckons with out-stretched hand… Oh, I can visualize this..
Psalms 91 is one of my most favorite passages inthe Bible. I know exactly where this desert place is and I never want to reside there again. Love you.. 🙂
Like Lynn Psalm 91 is one of my favorite Psalms. Love your thoughts on that verse.
“I can only be in His shadow if I am close to Him. I shouldn’t have wandered off.”
It’s so awesome that even when we wander off he accepts us back when we decide we’ve had enough and run back to him.
Wow, so lovely.
Amen, Linda. It is so true – when we start wandering off and take our eyes of off Him, we are in deep trouble, finding ourselves in the desert…
Thank you so much for sharing your honest heart with us.