9/4/24
Do you know how I remembered how to spell desert verses dessert? Dessert has two “s"s, and that’s because you always want more dessert. Two S’s. But desert only has one, because you usually don’t want to stay in the desert for very long. Hopefully our stint there is short. Now we know we’re going to have desert experiences because, hey, we live in a world full of pain, and disease, and broken people.
Jesus even said in John 16, verse 33, “In this world you will have trouble.” In fact, the verse starts with Jesus telling the twelve disciples, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.” Verse one of chapter 16 is where Jesus begins to tell them all those things – all the trouble they are about to face - Pain, grief, mourning, imprisonment, and even death. “You will have trouble,” He tells them. But then He tells them how to have peace in Him even when. “But take heart!” He says, “I have overcome the world.” He is the how.
He says in verse 20, “ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” And then two verses down He says, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
In Christ Jesus, we have joy that no one can take away…even in the middle of the trouble. It’s a peace that cannot be described or understood by the world. It's supernatural for believers.
So, where is our encouragement while we’re in the desert? You know that when the Bible talks about the desert or the wilderness, it’s quite literal. But it’s also a metaphor for our life today.
2 Tim 3:16 says that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” All scripture is good for us right now.
So when we read passages like in Isaiah 41, verses 17 and 18: “The poor and needy search for water,but there is none;their tongues are parched with thirst.But I the LORD will answer them;I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.I will make rivers flow on barren heights,and springs within the valleys.I will turn the desert into pools of water,and the parched ground into springs," this was quite literal. He did it before as the Israelites were wandering in the desert without water. Twice He brought water out from a rock to quench their thirst.
But also, King David said, “My soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water,” in Psalm 63 verse one, and we can take that metaphorically, not literally.
Now most of us don’t live in or near a desert. And most of us don’t travel through desert land to a destination like they did in Biblical times. But we most certainly travel through deserts of life, as we’ve already discussed. And when we’re in the metaphorical desert of life, it does feel like there is no water to quench our thirsty souls. There is no relief. We may even feel like we’re going to die right there in the middle of that desert.
There is a story in Second Kings that I love to come back to time and again to encourage myself. It truly shows God’s heart for His people. The king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom together led their armies to battle the Moabites. They marched for seven days in the dry desert and their water supply ran out. All the men and animals would certainly have perished in that desert without water. Through the prophet Elisha, God said to them, “Make this valley full of ditches. For thus says the Lord: you shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink. And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord.” That is Second Kings 3:16-18.
Okay, remember, they’re in the desert. Yet, God tells them to start digging ditches for all the water that was about to fill that dry land. This takes an act of faith on their part because there wasn’t a cloud in the sky or wind rustling up a storm to indicate that the water would indeed come. So, they dug ditches in faith. Kind of like Noah built an ark in faith, no evidence that there would be a flood. That’s Genesis chapter 6. Like the widow that gathered many pots from her neighbors, believing that they would be all be filled from her one little vessel of olive oil in 2 Kings chapter 4. They acted, believing God, before they even saw the evidence of His action. He said dig ditches and then you will see.
God, who is the same today as yesterday, says to His beloved now, “In your desert land, start digging ditches to hold all the blessings I want to pour out on you. Trust Me. It’s a simple matter for Me.” The NIV translation says, “This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD.” When we feel like we are in the desert of life, we need to be walking in belief. We are to put our concerns in His hands and walk in faith with great anticipation of Him showing up in our desperate need. Nothing is impossible for God!
There are still more scriptures that encourage us today that we can borrow for our current deserts. In Isaiah 43 verse 19 God says to His people, Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” This, my friend, is the heart of God for His people, promising that, in their frailty, in their desperation, in their heartbreak, in their grief and pain, He will supply all their needs. He will bring comfort. He will bring calm. He will bring peace.
Metaphorically, Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them,” John 7, verses 37 and 38. He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, metaphorically as well, saying, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life,” John 4, verse 14.
Jesus is our source of water for our thirsty souls as we walk through the deserts of life. One “s”. He is the way. Through Him, God will supply all our needs as we trust that He will and that it is coming.
But sometimes the thing that keeps us from walking in faith and digging ditches is because we’re not sure He really will. Or maybe we’re not sure He will for me. This is why it’s so important to understand that your core belief system is what will determine how you are experiencing your life…even in the desert place. What you believe will dictate how you think, and those are the exact the results that you will get. It’s just how the brain works. And it’s either working for us and letting us walk in faith or sabotaging our life and leaving us feeling parched and ready to give up.
So, friend, my question to you would be, “Do you believe that the God of the Bible is your God today, acting on behalf of His beloved? Do you believe He will make pools of water and streams in your desert? What is at the core of your belief system? What do you believe?
Maybe you just lost a loved one and you feel overwhelmed and sad and scared, or you lost your job and you’re not sure how to make ends meet, or you just got a cancer diagnoses and the future looks daunting - start digging ditches. God wants to do a new thing in your life. In faith, make room for all that’s coming. It is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord.
If you need help figuring out how you’re going to start digging ditches in your current desert, metaphorically, of course, I’d love to help you. I have a few openings for life coaching coming up this fall – and we can see if we’re a good fit with a quick 30-minute chat. The link for the free consult is in the show notes.
Also, don’t forget to get the free, downloadable guide that will help you work through this topic on your own. That link is in the show notes also.
Have a wonderful week, friends. See you next Wednesday for the next episode of Another Beautiful Life.
SHOW NOTES:
Sometimes this life can feel dry and weary. Sometimes it feels like we’re in a desert land with no water to keep us alive. Sometimes we want to give up.
But God says “Dig ditches. I’m coming.”
This episode is full of scripture that should encourage you to have hope that God will take your dry desert land and saturate it with showers of blessings.
Are you wondering how Life Coaching works? Would you like a free, 30-minute session? Click this link to set up a Consult Call: https://calendly.com/triciazodylifecoach/30min
Get the free, printable guide here: www.triciazody.com/guide
Comments