An Oasis in the Desert

 

I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland … I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

—Isaiah 43:19-20

Have you ever struggled with a problem from which you seemingly had no way out? Has the “road” of this problem been dry and unyielding, going on much longer than you ever imagined it would? Do you feel that you have no strength for the fight, no tears left to shed, no prayers you haven’t spoken a thousand times? Then this devotional blog post is for you. Please let me illustrate my point with three examples:

First example: I remember one school year during which I was assigned to teach in a school with poor discipline and I was assigned an age group to which I had trouble relating. It was a very bad “fit” for me, but I was plugging a hole in the schedule and the administration had shuffled teachers around, so that I had space in my week for the classes at this school.

I remember how poorly the students treated me, even though I did my very best and spent hours and hours looking for materials I thought they would enjoy. Nevertheless, nothing worked. It was a very long, emotionally draining school year.

Yet, amidst all the pain and lack of success with those music classes, at the same time, I had a group of students in my chorus who sang beautifully. They joyfully worked hard on the pieces I gave them and earned us a standing ovation at our spring concert. This group was my “oasis in the desert” during that awful school year.

Second example: I know a woman who had been an influential leader in her church, but when a new pastor came to the church, she realized he was not going to use her gifts as she had so effectively used previously. She was heart sick that she was set aside, yet she felt committed to the church and its mission.

Not long after that new pastor came, she was led to a new para-church organization that needed her leadership skills. Also, she received an elevation at her secular job and was given new leadership opportunities there. Though she continued on at the church and was saddened by the direction things took there, God had given her other things that made her heart sing. This was her “oasis in the desert” in that difficult time.

Third example: A devoted Christian pastor that I know went through the devastating loss of his ministry and his reputation through no fault of his own. The situation nearly ruined him financially, as well. Yet, in those days, he spent a couple of days a week watching his new granddaughter, who sat beside him in the car—those were days before car seats!—and with her little feet sticking straight ahead off the seat, she happily jabbered and sang in his presence. This was his “oasis in the desert” during a very discouraging time in his life.

While God doesn’t always take away our distressing wilderness experiences as quickly as we would like, in the midst of such a “desert,” He can provide those times of refreshing that keep us going. When the people of Israel traveled the Sinai desert for 40 years, yearning for the rich foods they previously had available back in Egypt, and fighting off hunger and thirst, Scripture tells us in Psalm 78:19:

… they spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the desert?”

This passage of Scripture goes on to report in Psalm 78:23-27:

Yet he [God] gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. Men ate the bread of angels; … He rained meat down on them like dust, flying birds like sand on the seashore.

The unbelief of these Israelites greatly disappointed God because He expected His own people to know that He could indeed spread a table before them in the desert. And, in fact, that is exactly what God did for them. Likewise, God is able to feed us and to give us a cool refreshing drink in our distress. When we go through a long drought that we don’t understand, we should put our trust fully in God. He can, and He will, provide an “oasis in the desert” for us!

 

 

Moses' Rod and Sampson's Jawbone

 

Then the Lord said to him [Moses], “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. “Take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.”

—Exodus 4:2, 17

All of us can probably recount some of the ways God used Moses’ staff (or rod) in the Book of Exodus. The plagues God sent on Egypt began with his raised staff in obedience to God’s commands. The parting of the Red Sea and the water from the rock came as a result of Moses’ use of his simple staff.

Then, we can recall the story of Sampson, the judge God used to help Israel defeat the warring Philistine army, through the use of a simple jawbone of a donkey, as recorded in Judges 15. He used this available instrument to wage war and kill a thousand Philistines.

The men of Gideon, as described in Judges 7, used torches and trumpets at God’s command. In Judges 6:14, we read:

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

In yet another example, the boy David used a slingshot to defeat Goliath, as recorded in 1 Samuel 17. This is a famous event that most all of us have heard about.

Scripture tells of many more heroes. In each case, God used these heroes to do His work through something simple. Maybe you think God can’t use you because of some real, or perceived, weakness, some handicap, some lacking of finances, or the lacking of some special talent. Maybe age has crept up on you, and you wonder if God has finished using you. Do not be discouraged.

Instead, just remember the Bible stories where, in spite of weakness and lack, God used those individuals to great purpose and great power. Remind yourself of what the Apostle Paul said about the Lord’s message to him, as recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Well said, Paul. Thank you for these words of encouragement!

 

 

Digging Ditches

 

While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha …

—from 2 Kings 3:15 NIV

Are you ready for a blessing? King Joram of the Northern Kingdom and King Jehoshaphat of the Southern Kingdom had been marching with their armies for seven days. But, they had no water for themselves, or for their animals. They knew that they could never fight their enemy, Moab, in this condition.

They asked Elisha, the prophet of the Lord, what they should do in their helpless, desperate state. I like the fact that before Elisha gave an answer, he asked for a harpist to come and play music. During the music, God spoke to Elisha so he could share the words captured in the Scripture verses found in 2 Kings 3:15-18:

While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For this is what the Lord says: ‘You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.’ This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.”

Even though they asked Elisha to petition God in their behalf, these kings were not prepared to receive the blessing for which they were asking God. As Charles Spurgeon suggests, ¹ they needed to make a …

… believing preparation for the divine blessing; they were to dig the trenches in which the precious liquid would be held.

Let us ponder this scenario. How often do we pray, asking for God’s blessing, while we remain unprepared to receive the answer?

In a story recorded in Acts 12, when the disciples gathered for prayer for Peter’s release from prison, they were astonished when he stood at their door. Like them, we often pray without really believing in God’s miraculous ability to answer our sincere prayers.

If God has led us to pray for a blessing of deliverance, or enlargement, or wisdom, or protection, or peace, or anything else we desperately need, we must also show our faith in Him by preparing to receive that blessing. Although God may not use our expected methodology in answering our prayers, if we make a believing preparation to receive that answer, we will clearly see His answer come to pass.

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1 Spurgeon, Charles H. Morning and Evening. McLean, VA: Macdonald Publishing Company, Public Domain. p. 275. Please note that whenever a citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog post, such a citation is given strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Shimmering Aspens

 

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

—John 3:8

I would like to share with you yet another tree image worth comparing to the Christian life. The Aspen, widely distributed throughout North America, nevertheless, has the thickest concentration in Colorado. These beautiful trees, not extremely tall, can live for 150 years or more and often survive best and recover best from wildfires. Their root system can live and reproduce by cloning for thousands of years. ¹

When God places in us His powerful Holy Spirit, He puts within us the capacity to withstand the storms of life. He knows such storms will strengthen us and ultimately prepare us for our being used to His glory. Even when we think the fiery experiences of life might destroy us, we can come through those experiences by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The leaves of the aspen shimmer in the wind and “quake.” They show a lacey daintiness that belies their strength. They move in the slightest breeze. Here’s how Joni Eareckson Tada compared them to a Holy Spirit-led life:

I want to be that sensitive to the Spirit’s touch, don’t you? A soul that is sensitive to sin, that resonates at the slightest movement of the Spirit. A soul that quivers when the breath of God all but touches it. How do we become this sensitive? Simple: be ready, stretch out your branches, unfurl your heart to God, for you never know when his wind will rise your way. After, all, like the wind, the spirit is uncontrollable and unpredictable. ²

Each season of the year, God has something to teach us. As we view His world of creation and ponder the lessons it provides, let’s pray He will help us grow deep and strong. Ask God to make us able to withstand the storms, and yet free and sensitive to the leading of His Holy Spirit, as we live day to day in order to declare His glory.

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1 Information about “Aspens” from Wikipedia and from an article by R. Scott Rappold in “Out There Colorado,” September 19, 1918, published in the Gazette. Please note that whenever a citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog post, such a citation is given strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

2 Tada, Joni Eareckson. More Precious Than Silver. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998. Entry for September 11th. Please note that whenever a citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog post, such a citation is given strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

 

Take By Force

 

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

—Matthew 11:12

Scripture gives us plenty of vivid examples of how Christians should persevere (Hebrews 10:36), how we must hold on to truth (1 John 2:20-21), and how we have been equipped with the armor for warfare against evil. (Ephesians 6).

The theme verse of Scripture at the beginning of this blog post urges us to seriously fight, in order to advance in our life of faith. Often, when we talk about warfare in our churches, we sometimes have mental pictures of Christians duking it out with one another. Unfortunately, we each can probably cite examples of this! But the kind of “fight” or “forceful advance” that the theme verse is describing refers to spiritual warfare where we followers of Jesus are aligned to fight against the evil powers of Satan and his emissaries. Ephesians 6:11-12 tells us:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

This battle we wage to forcefully advance the Kingdom remains far too powerful for us alone. Christ has told us that we have the Holy Spirit within us to fight these battles against the forces of evil, for the Kingdom of Light, and for those who belong to it.

Our battle begins with earnest prayer. And, how do we pray with this kind of power? According to Ephesians 6:17, we take the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Praying portions from God’s written Word helps us forcefully take down the Enemy. In this Ephesians passage, the word “wrestle” occurs. Wrestling signifies perseverance and struggle.

In Genesis 32, we read the story of Jacob when he met God face to face. Jacob wrestled with Him all night long. This prevailing prayer allowed Jacob to receive the blessing of God and go on his way in victory.

All of us need the power in this present evil world to wrestle against sin and darkness: in our own lives, in the lives of our loved ones, in our churches, and in the greater culture. God wants us to forcefully claim the Kingdom He has purchased for us through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ in His own victorious battle against sin. Let us pray that we can take up the task and powerfully engage for Him.