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Abiding in the Desert

I would have despaired unless I had believed that 
I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;
Be strong, and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.”
Psalm 27:13-14

A dear friend recently returned from a trip to the Arizona desert. When asked how she liked it, she declared, “It’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. Why would anyone want to live where it is so desolate?” Having spent some time there I asked if she’d seen the glorious sunsets. Another friend wondered if she happened to have smelled the air right before the rain. Both of us had spent time in the desert and knew some of its hidden beauties. In contrast, our friend had only a few days to see the area and make an opinion.  

I thought about her statement later: “Why would anyone want to live where it is so desolate?” How just a quick passing trip might leave that impression, yet with time the beauty might become apparent. Yet time was necessary. Time to wait. Time to abide in the area until the beauty appeared. Time to be patient. 

I wonder how often this happens in my life? I make a quick “visit” to some lesson that God is trying to teach me, but leave before the beauty is revealed. Seeing only the desolation and apparent barrenness I rush away rather than wait for His plan.  Then I wonder why He would want me to be in such a desolate place. I miss the beauty and the lesson that He would reveal if I abided in Him and His will. Always rushing, I forget His call to quiet and rest. “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while.’…” (Mark 6:31) I don’t think I have time to wait. I tell myself that I am too busy to abide. Yet I recall His words: “Wait for the LORD, and keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.” (Psalms 37:34) And He, our perfect example, He found time to abide. He found time to rest and abide. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love.” (John 15:10, Luke 5:16)  

When I do take time to abide, the long hot days of trial in the desert of life end in an outstanding sunset of the glory of my Father. “…but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.” (1 Peter 4:13, Psalm 65:8) Likewise, the dry, barren days of apparent silence are transformed when I patiently wait for the clouds of His promise to arrive.  The storm bringing rain and filling the air with a fragrant aroma (Job 40:6). “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14, Acts 14:17) 

“The wilderness and the desert will be glad,
And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom;
Like the crocus it will blossom profusely
And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy.”
Isaiah 35:1-2