A Place In The Sun

Heaven's WondersImage by duopastorale via Flickr

Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.....Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him....weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Hosea 2:14 Matthew 4:11 Psalm 30:5

The image of the desert and wilderness when applied to the spiritual life evokes a dark and troubling picture. We often speak of our desert experiences as being ones when we feel under great trial and far from God. But as I meditate on the desert this Lent I am continually being drawn back to the idea of the desert being a place where we can enjoy a greater intimacy with God and experience a real sense of joy in His Presence. It is a place to receive God's affirmation. In a previous post I wrote about a particular man's experience of retreat in the Egyptian desert. Although it was indeed a difficult time of seclusion, facing his inner turmoil, there were also days for him when he felt completely free and peaceful in God's Presence.

When it comes to Jesus time in the wilderness, we often focus on the temptations. These were indeed more powerful than we will ever experience, but for Jesus there were also times of respite when satan retreated and angels were sent to minister to Him. In that Judean wilderness I wonder if Jesus ever sat looking at a beautiful sunset, basking in the love of His Father, all well with the world? I would like to think so. What I do know is that whatever deserts we are in, whatever struggles and trials, God wants to give us these moments of refreshing. The irony is that it often takes a desert experience to bring us to such a place. Let's be confident that just as the Holy Spirit led Jesus to this dry place, so the Spirit is leading us, and there may even be one or two angels casting a watchful eye over us.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Comments

Andrea said…
Great post.

I felt like we were in a storm when we were dealing with our daughters cancer. We kept our faith in God and He saw us through it all and even chose to heal her body of cancer.
Anonymous said…
Mike, I am interested in your cd. Can I buy it directly from you?
A beautiful post and because of all you offer in simplicity and beauty I have something for you. Please stop by at any time. God Bless Cathy
Suz. said…
there is something so stark, so distilling about the desert--with very few, if any distractions on the landscape. hmm... good things to ponder. thanks.
That picture is beautiful!!
Gudl said…
Comforting!
God is good!
Angie said…
Inspiring and full of hope! Loved Suz's comments too.
imac said…
Beautiful Post Mike.


Happy Valentines Day to you and all your family.
come
and see my Valentines message
zakscloset said…
wow! that is so brilliant!!!!! thanks for sharing some peaceful thoughts. great picture too as always!
Wanda said…
So very inspiring Mike. You have a gift to take a passage and just make it practical and real.

LOL Wanda
TMM said…
We all face different valleys, some are more deep than the others and some are more terrifying...but in all these valleys we have one common thing that we can enjoy....the lilies.

He is the Lily of the valley [SOS 2:1]

Popular Posts