The Desert...or Dessert?

Friday, October 29, 2010
The Desert…or Dessert? When I was younger I always got the spelling of the “desert” and “dessert” confused. The means of both are miles apart, but because it all comes down to one little “s” I often got it wrong. That is, until one of my elementary school teachers taught us a cheap little trick to remember. She said, “Everybody loves dessert so much, they always want more. The desert isn’t much fun, so people want less of it. So just remember: more dessert so more “s’s”. Less desert so less “s’s”. And guess what? It worked.
Nobody dreams of spending time in a desert in life. The truth is, we’d all like to avoid those dry times in our life as much as possible. We long for the mountain tops – the times of blessing. You know what I’m talking about – those times when everything is going great. Nobody intentionally signs up for the low points – the barren lands of living. Yet the longer we live on this planet, the more deserts we will experience.
But there’s a beauty that can only be found in the desert, did you know that? I’ve made a few mission trips out to the desert of Arizona to spend some quality time with the Navajo people. And one thing I’ve found about the desert is that some of God’s most amazing works of art are found there. There’s a place called “Window Rock” in Arizona, and amazing doesn’t even capture the breathtaking beauty found there. The colors of the cliffs and boulders are striking. But you have to travel to the “barren lands” to find them.
The children of Israel definitely knew something about deserts. They spend a few generations wondering around in them because of their stiff-necked disobedience to God. But even in that dry place of consequences they found themselves in, they got to see God do some amazing stuff. Don’t forget: it was in the desert that they saw God make water come from a rock. They saw the Red Sea parted in the desert. God provided them manna from heaven for food in that dry, desolate place. The 10 Commandments were received there. So many God-sized things were done while they wandered in the sands of the desert wilderness.
And today you may have found yourself there – in a desert. You look around you and see sand, sand, and more sand. It seems like nothing is working out for you. It may even seem like nobody is on your side, and you’re all alone. Chances are, if you had your choice, you’d be out of this desert experience and back in the place of immense blessings again. But don’t miss the blessing in the desert! It’s in those times when you have nothing/no one else that you can best see His faithfulness and provision! Don’t spend all your desert time focusing on you and what you don’t have. Rather, spend it focusing on Him and realizing what all you DO have!
God is good. God is faithful. God is patient. God is love. God is awesome. God is amazing. God is breathtaking. God is grace. God is hope. God is peace. God is provision. God is power. And God is big. And all these can be seen best while in the desert. Trust me on that. As a matter of fact, I might just add another “s.”


That’s just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Until next time,
blake

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