Not Made for the Desert

I always have trouble with the words "desert" and "dessert."  I can't never remember which one means what!  It's funny how a tiny spelling mistake changes the entire meaning of something, huh?  I want to talk about how I was not made to dwell in that dry and barren area of land where there is little to no vegetation, and I'm here sitting pondering which one is that one? So I better check with my trusted friends Merriam and Webster before I proceed...

The thing is that so often I live my life as if I am supposed to permanently inhabit that dry and barren land where nothing much grows.  I allow the circumstances surrounding me to become my world.  I let my thoughts to freely flow toward the problems.  I am overcome by fear.  I am trapped within the boundaries of my situations.  I forget that I am free, and that I was made to remain in constant communication with My Maker.

In chapter 6 of the book, You're Going to Be Okay, author Holley Gerth explores the fact that the happiness of the full-life that Jesus talks about in John 10: 10 is not a promise that will be fulfilled only in Heaven; but right here as well.  I forget that, even though we are told how we will have trouble in this life, they are of a temporary nature.  These troubles are not meant to consume us.  The only All-Consuming Fire is God Himself! (Hebrews 12: 29) 

The permanence of God stands in heavy contrast with the momentary span of our problems.  The thing is that we forget...

While our problems might be momentary, they are very real, touchable, concrete, present... God, on the other hand, might seem distant, abstract and almost unreal.  Why is that?  Usually, because we are the ones standing far away from Him.  We are the ones who do not seek His presence and His Kingdom first.  We are the ones who lack faith.  We are the ones who walk away from His Word.  We are the ones who ignore Him...therefore, we begin to believe that He is not really here.

The abundant life is a life lived in His Presence.  The abundant life is promised to all of His children.  However, we have to tap it.  The Holy Spirit has to guide us to it.  But if we are not in tune with the Holy Spirit, His whisperings go unheard, and His nudgings go unnoticed.  The Almighty seeks us, yes.  For us to love Him, He has to love us first! (1 John 4: 19)  But I believe that once He chooses us, the light goes on in our soul and we begin to thirst for His presence, which causes us to seek Him with all we've got.

As humans, however, we are easily distracted.  So as the world revolves and troubles show up, we fix our sight on those as supposed to staying put on His Face.  Then, the abundant life seems to disappear as the view of the desert enlarges and becomes the focal point of our gaze. 

That's when our strategy should be to seek Him first!  In times of trouble, go to Him first and cry out to Him.  In times of joy, go to Him first and rejoice with Him.  Regardless of the circumstances, go to Him first and dwell in His Presence ... This is how we can only see the desert as we pass through it, rather than as our home.  Our home is in Him...and we are His home.  So let's stop seeing the desert as the place where we will stay; and head out to our real home, where we can enjoy our dessert!

Because, if I may say so, I was made for dessert, but not for the desert!