Surviving the Desert – Part I
Even in the Worst Times, God is There
…”For I’m going to do a brand new thing. See, I have already begun! Don’t you see it? I will make a road through the wilderness of the world for my people to go home, and create rivers for them in the desert!”… Isaiah 43:19 (Living Bible translation)
Many in our nation today are faced with great uncertainty. Gas prices are soaring. Food prices are sharply increasing. Everything seems to be going up except our salaries. The things we thought we could count on are melting away right before our eyes. Nothing seems to be as clear-cut as it used to be; now, everything seems to have a jagged edge to cut us just a little deeper.
However, there is a word of encouragement: God is still with us.
In this passage of scripture, the Children of Israel found themselves in a desert period in their history. The definition of a desert is a barren wasteland, a solitary place that is uninhabited, an arid pastureland full of undesirable animals and elements.
No life worth living lives in the desert; it is an undesirable place. Have any of us ever been in an undesirable place:
- Financially
- Home life
- Career or work life
- Made bad decisions that led to bad outcomes and results for ourselves or for others
On the surface, there is nothing in the desert that would give you peace, rest, joy or contentment, but in Deut. 28:3, it says that we will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country, or in the field.
The city signifies a familiar place, a place of comfort, and a safe place. The country or the field speaks to a place of wild animals, not safe – out in the open where we could be swept away or attacked by anything, but even there as children of God, we will be blessed, because God is Jehovah Shammah – the “Lord is Present,” or the “Lord is There.”
For every problem, situation, or circumstance in our lives, there are two possible focal points. One point is the problem and the other focus point is the solution. God is always the solution.
Please be mindful of this truth; where you focus while you’re in a desert season of your life is the determining factor of how you get out of the desert. Do you come out victorious in the power and might of God, or do you come out beaten, battered and bruised? Focusing on God will guarantee you come out of the desert victorious.
“Beware you don’t forget the God who led you through the great and terrible wilderness with the dangerous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! He fed you with manna in the wilderness so that you would become humble and so that your trust in Him would grow, and He could do you good.” Deuteronomy 8:15 - 16
