Is That An Oasis, Or Simply Just A Mirage

You see water right in front of you. It looks as if it is just out of reach. Then, as you go to quench your thirst, it disappears. Just like that, it's gone. Your relief has vanished. Life can feel like that sometimes. You walk through your desert hoping to find something to help you along the way and when it feels like it is about to touch your fingers, it is snatched away. We will all walk our desert at some point. Whether it is 40 days like Jesus' or 40 years like the Israelites, it is going to come. A dry period where you know where you need to get to, it is just taking a longer to get there then you originally hoped.
The song that comes to mind in times like these is from "Josh and the Big Wall" "We didn't have a lot of fun in the desert, we didn't have a lot of fun in the sand. But saddle up your cow, it's all behind us now, because we're going to the Promised Land."
The desert is usually not a thrilling adventure. Its hot, there is sand everywhere and it is dry. Sometimes, this is not just physical dryness, but also spiritual. You walk and you walk, but you never get to where there is refreshment. You pray and pray believing the promised land is right around the corner, but your mirage continues to disappear. There are times when you even find a real stream or a little shade, but then you continue to move on and the water dries up, the shade goes away and you are back in the heat of things waiting for another second of relief.
But don't lose hope. In no time at all, the mirage will become real and there will be a promise land oasis waiting for you. A land flowing with milk and honey and streams of real living water. The scorching hot heat becomes a cool refreshing breeze and life gets a little easier. Now I am not saying life will be easy, just easier. No more wandering, no more wondering. The land is there, you just need to walk a little longer to get there.

The desert is not always a bad thing. It was in the desert that Moses experienced the burning bush after almost 40 years in the desert. Here he got his call to be a leader of the people of Israel. From this desert encounter, he was given a plan to do what needed to be done, and given all the tools to do so. Then we see Jesus' time in the desert after his baptism. After 40 days, Satan comes to him and offers him the world, but Jesus refutes the devil's temptations and is later refreshed in the desert by angels.

So maybe this desert time is preparing you for your burning bush. Maybe God needs you in an isolated place in order to ensure that when he speaks, you will hear him. In a land full of distractions, God's voice can sometimes be hindered from being heard. A desert place might be the only way he can get your attention.

In your desert period, don't forget to continue to pray, continue to believe, continue to trust that God knows what he is doing. The oasis will come, just don't get disheartened with the fleeting of a passing mirage.

Adam Semple- a young man on a mission

*photo credit- Far Side Comics