Desert Places

It seems to me that the Lord has taken me to a desert place where satan and his helpers have been allowed to harass me for a while now.  Being in what seems like a desert place, is a hard place to be.  It can feel very frustrating, very lonely and be a very secluded place to be regardless of the cause.

I know that many people would say if you had more faith you wouldn’t be in the situation, and I think we all need more faith, but I don’t think that is always the issue, sometimes I think it is just God’s will for your life.  I know many preachers preach that believers should never be depressed or discouraged, and that would be true if we were not in this body of flesh that is decaying with age and sometimes far before the golden years, as some relate to growing older.  It would be nice to be a believer and never have any more problems, but that is not the case and it is not reality.  We live in a fallen world and as long as we live here we will feel the effects of it.

Sometimes we may even feel like we have been abandoned and even forsaken by those around us, and even by God himself.  Sometimes anxiousness, fear or doubt will seem to wrap its ugly arms around us and hold on so tight that it seems like it is sucking the very life out of us.  

There are a couple people in God’s Word that come to mind that experienced some of what I am talking about, one was Job and one was Elijah although there were others.  Job was taken completely by surprise and was devastated by what was happening to him and Elijah was running for his life because of fear, to the point of wanting to die.  In both cases God showed Himself to be their solution and He is our only solution and our only answer also.  Just like Job and Elijah, at these times we will have one thing to hold onto and that is our faith.

God’s Word says in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  We hope for many things in this life and wait in anticipation, at times, for them to materialize and even though we can’t see them at the time, we believe they will happen.  That is what faith is, believing God’s promises in His Word even though they haven’t happened yet.  Hebrews 11 is called the faith chapter by many because all the people spoken of demonstrated faith in their particular situations.  If you need to be encouraged today this would be a good chapter to read, it may even help to boost your faith.

If you are a believer and find yourself in this situation, you will need to stand firm and do your part to bring about a good resolve, and wait upon the Lord and not grow weary in well doing, but always keep the faith without giving in to the evil one and his wicked ways.  Try to keep this in mind, just like in Job and Elijah’s situations, what we are facing shall soon pass and we will be able to see the top of the mountain again.  Praise the Lord!!  Jesus was tried in the desert also and He came out victorious, defeating the enemy by never yielding to his testing or temptations, and with His help we can be victorious also, so let’s hang in there.  Something to think about!  Have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!