Clear and very Sunny in the Desert

I cannot believe another year has passed with so little blogging done.   Apparently I have been bitten by the non-writing bug !   Truth to tell, I have thought about posting a lot more than I've actually done it.   But frankly I have been engrossed in personal study and I guess I talk out my thoughts a lot more these days with like-minded people so the urge to write is not so "urgent".   Imagine that - me talking.

So what's this about the Desert?

This year opened for me with several studies focusing on the first few chapters of Luke and the coming of John the Baptist.    After the third unrelated study took me to the same story about Zechariah conversing with the angel about the birth of his son in the temple I started to wonder if God wasn't trying to get my attention for some reason.  What is he trying to tell me?  I am not sure yet but that got me to thinking about the desert because that's where John spent most of his life.  So, of course, I wondered ... why? 

The angel Gabriel told Zechariah very clearly that his son would be special.  He was to be set apart to God from birth and he was not to be a drinker of wine or fermented beverages.    In other words, he would not be a drunkard and so that his mind would not be clouded by drink.  No need for that anyway because he would be filled with the Holy Spirit.  This young man had an important job to do - he was going to bring many people back to the Lord their God.  And he would soften them up and make them ready for the coming appearance of the Savior.

Again, so why the Desert?

The desert, apparently, is a great training ground.  Think about it.  God took the whole nation of Israel to the desert after they left Egypt because they had a lot of learning to do.  I haven't experienced a real desert land in my physical life but I'm inclined to think from what I've seen in pictures that he wanted them out there where there were fewer distractions.   I imagine that you can really hear God in the desert.  It's quiet there.   There's not much to look at - not so much going on.   It would be easier to focus.   There would not be so much there to influence and corrupt you so God could get you into a state of holiness and have a chance of keeping you there.   So if God wanted your undivided attention,wouldn't he be more likely to get it with you in the desert?

And then there is this:  nothing much grows in the desert.  Water is scarce.   Shade is scarce.   There is nourishment there but you have to have the skill to find it.  It would be easy to die there unless ... you had a supernatural God to depend on.  So the desert would teach you first to hear God but also to depend on him.    He's famous for sending his people all the quail and manna  they can eat :-)   And sometimes there is apparently wild locust and honey - a varied diet. Definitely an acquired taste.

Life would be much simpler there.  Certainly there would be fewer gadgets and technology to complicate things. You would have to learn to live simply and to need less. 

Another thing about the desert is that you can see for miles.   There is nothing to block your vision.   No trees, no houses, no tall buildings.    Nothing but rocks and sand and low plants, if any.    Some deserts have mountainous formations, of course.    But there are no man-made obstacles.    In the desert you would probably have a clearer field of vision.   And I think your eye would become more accustomed to seeing what's there to see.

I also have to think that living in the desert would teach you to be on your guard.  It may look like an empty place but there are hazards there.  And some of them like to hide in unexpected places.  Rattlesnakes, scorpions, sharp spiny cactus, sand storms, the occasional mirage ... contaminated water (lots of borax, salt, alkali and lime), sunburn, eye irritation, rapid temperature changes, intense heat causing heat cramps, heat stroke, heat exhaustion.  And there are bugs ... spiders, centipedes, lice, mites, flies and wasps.   They see you as a food and water source.  You'd have to watch carefully where you put your hands, your feet, where you walk, sit or lie down. 

And when it does rain, it tends to come in brief torrents that can sweep you away if you aren't prepared.  It doesn't even have to rain where you are - water generated by storms that are miles away can rush down gullies in a flash.   So I think the desert would teach you to be prepared and expect the unexpected.    And it would teach you to pick the right ground to stand on.   Those sandy bottoms are not as good as solid rock a little higher up.

I think you'd also learn the value of rest in the desert.    When the sun rises high and the heat ramps up, you realize the need to seek shade.    Isn't it fortunate that God is a source of both rest and shade.

Knowledge is the key to survival in the desert.   You have to know the relationship with temperature, activity level and water levels.   And you learn to drink more water than you are thirsty for because we don't start to feel the effects of dehydration until it is already far along.   To survive in the desert you conserve your activity, you don't ration water.   You can do without food for awhile but never water.   Through a little research I learned that it is better to have the water in the body than in the bottle. That's what maintains your life. Isn't that truth for us spiritually too? You know he's the source of Living Water. And he makes water flow from the rocks when he wants to. But it does you no good if you don't internalize it.   And it's important to make sure that your water source is pure.   Water contaminated with parasites, salt or body wastes can bring disease and death.

So now, what was that about the Desert?

There is more than one kind of desert.  I've been talking about the physical desert here but it is the spiritual desert that really concerns me.   Those are the deserts that I am most likely to find myself in.   If you think about it, the same lessons apply.  

Why did God take John the Baptist to the desert?    To train him for the job he was meant to do, obviously.   Perhaps God has been drawing my attention to John's story so that I would understand the need for my own desert experiences. 


Reference:  http://crisistimes.com