desert
“Really, God? Arizona? In JUNE???”
When the Lord laid it on my heart to go to Arizona for work, my first thoughts about the adventure were less than enthusiastic. As we were making progress in business and working on developing new ventures (see Ecclesiastes 11:2), the opportunity for a partnership came across our desk that felt like a fit. When I told Husband that we needed to check it out for ourselves, he agreed and booked the trip. And then it hit me…we are going to the desert in the middle of the summer. All of a sudden, this God idea sounded more like a message from hell.
As a native Texan, I had traveled all over the world, but have never been farther west than Colorado and the idea of 116 degrees was not making this trip more appealing. “But it’s a dry heat” became the standing joke in our house as we packed and prepared to go. I was honestly a little sour on the whole ordeal once I realized what I had gotten us into, but it was too late to back out, and I knew God was calling us to go. Obedience was the only option.
It was also not lost on me that Husband and I have been spiritually living in the book of Exodus these past 18 months. You know, that book of the Bible where God calls the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and then takes them to the DESERT on the way to the Promise Land. Having left our own version of Pharaoh behind, we were excited to head out to our promised land. Except I forgot about the desert part. The hard part. The stretching and uncomfortable part.
Landing in AZ, I felt a wave of anxiety. There was a part of me that was scared of what the Lord was going to ask of me in the desert. What was I going to have to do in this wilderness that would be productive, yet painful? I never understood why God took His people to a dry, desolate place before He gave them the good stuff. But now, I get it.
Good ideas and God ideas come to us in the desert. He takes us to a place that requires dependence solely on Him to download what we will need in the next season. But we are never alone in the desert. God longs to meet with us here and pour out His plans for us while we have nothing else to distract us. He loves to provide for us in ways we could never provide for ourselves. The desert has a way of testing our hearts and our motives before we move on to what is next.
In Exodus 33, Moses is talking to God about the Promise Land. He tells God that he understands the assignment, but he doesn’t know who he is supposed to take with him.
“The Lord replied, ‘I will personally go with you, Moses and I will give you rest – everything will be fine for you.” Exodus 33:14 NLT
And Moses responds to God, “If you are not coming with us, do not even send us from this place.”
Feel that. When the Lord moves us from one season to another, the uncertainty can sometimes be the most intimidating part. Not knowing what things will look and feel like can push our human nature to want to control and grasp at the details of what is to come.
It is HARD to stay in a place of dependence on the Lord when our insides feel a strong need to pull away and push ahead. Which is exactly why He calls us to the desert before the promised land. The desert develops in us a daily habit of dependence. A posture of waiting and seeking Him creates space for His plans and His timing to emerge. When we stop long enough to look up, we usually see that most of our exhaustion is a result of wrestling with ourselves. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. The desert is His way of refocusing our heart and minds on who He is and what He is doing.
That does not mean it is still not 112 in the shade some days; it just means that the heat causes us to stop and rest more than we would in our regular lives. Resting in the physical is often a symbolic act of rest for our weary spirits. The chaotic world can make it feel impossible to stop and just be. But the desert demands it. And so, we slow down and look around and tune our senses to the One who created us and that is the beginning of the beauty we find in the desert.
This week in Arizona gave so much to our family. Time. Rest. Adventure. Strategy. Vision. All things we desperately will need to navigate our next season. And even though traveling with kids isn’t easy and summer in the desert comes with it’s own set of unique challenges, we all came home refreshed and sad to leave that special place. We bought t-shirts and stickers for our water bottles and took photos to remind us of our time in the desert because what we learned here is worth remembering for years to come.
So in the event you also feel the Lord calling you to the desert in June, don’t freak out. It’s a dry heat.