Desert Or Valley Dwelling.
Good Morning Friends, how are you this Tuesday morning? How was your weekend?
Jman and I got away this weekend. We ran away to Palm Springs. We went to the zoo there and had a beautiful time. However Since Palm Springs is in a desert, and it was close to 100,° we stayed inside absorbing AC and relaxing at our hotel most of the afternoons.
I kept ruminating on how many times in the bible God mentions a group of people in the desert. The Israelites in Exodus and Joshua were unable to enter the promised land because they disobeyed God. I wondered how everyone just accepted the groups wandering. I wondered about heat and if anyone got frustrated with the state of the leaders’ decisions. I wondered if some of them felt like God was far away.
As we drove around the rocky wasteland, I reflected on the time when God feels far away in my own life. First I never imagine a desert. More like a large canyon where from the bottom I can’t see the stars. And sometimes the canyon walls feel Claustrophobic. I’ve mentioned that I am now claustrophobic, a carryover from the Ct scans I did while going through cancer treatments. It is no fun. Air Plane rides are usually when I experience it the most. Lots of people and in a metal tube.
This valley that’s in my head, I’m always walking through pointed north and praying and hoping that God will send down an answer. I can’t stop walking because there is a fear of rockslides, and being buried. So I continue, praying every day for God’s answer of yes, God’s timing, and finally feeling special and chosen by God. In my times of hurting, I often forget to see the blessings God bestows on me every single day.
One such example of blessings, on my hardest days God would send an angel in the form of friends, my sister, or even a nice note from a student or parent reminding me how special I am. These unprompted praises would remind me that God loves me and helps. During COVID, Jman and I struggled financially, and I can think of at least 3 times when we had an unexpected check in the mail that helped provide groceries or some other necessity. God sends provision when We didn’t ask for it. God Works whether we are looking for God or not. There were multiple times when God provided safety when scary things were happening in the world. Jman fell off a ladder last year and was not seriously injured, the town we were living in had riots, and thankfully our neighborhood was safe. And thankfully God kept us from getting Covid.
God Provides in the desert or the valleys. He is still there, He still cares. You just need faith to believe. I believe there were probably some generations of Israelites who tired of the desert, who were angry at their leaders, and sometimes angry at God but we don’t hear stories of those who broke away and ventured on their own.
What I’m trying to encourage is that even if you feel like venturing from God. The unknowns of walking away from God, and wilderness of unbelief, and leaving everything to chance scares me more than claustrophobia, alligators, and aliens combined. God is still leading me on my hardest days and he is still leading you on your hardest days. God is still leading me on my victories days just like God is still leading you on your victories days.
Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. Joshua 5:4-6
TTFN and God Bless you and Keep You 🙂
Danie with an E reflections 