Honey and Footsteps in the Desert

Deserts. We can all picture one in our minds. It's sandy, rocky, and dry. Jesus was tempted there. The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years.

...Or did they? Were they truly wandering? Ray Vander Laan, in His video series "That The World May Know," states that though the Bible mentions wanderings a few times, it more often talks about God's leading. Yes, the Israelites saw themselves as wandering, because they did not know where they were headed. But they were never lost. God was always there leading them through the desert. He does the same for us.

At some point in our lives, each of us goes through some sort of desert. Even Jesus went through some "desert" times. Okay, so, what does that mean?

Rocky Desert (globosapiens.net)

Look at the above photo. This desert is full of rocks, all different sizes. Some of the rocks are small. Others are larger. Sometimes there are great big boulders. Our lives are full of these rocks.

The small ones are simply annoying. We trip over them, but as Ray Vander Laan says, they aren't going to do us any serious harm. There are circumstances in our lives like those small stones. Your job isn't going the way you'd like, your sisters are driving you nuts, you lost iPhone. As you walk life's path, you begin to find bigger stones. Vander Laan says, "If you stumble into one of those, it hurts." What are some examples of this rock? Well, suppose you lose a job; you're struggling with a disease; somebody you know is going through a hard time.

And then there are even larger rocks that bring you to your knees. As Ray puts it, those are the moments where we stop and say, "I don't know if I can keep going." Most of us can probably think of/describe a time like that.

Finally, we sometimes come up against giant boulders which lead us to say, "There's no way." Ray says, "Your spouse goes to be with God, one of your children walks away from the faith, someone you love has a terminal disease." At those times, we often tell ourselves that there is no way we can continue on our path. We can't move past this boulder.

I've heard some people say things like, "If you'll just walk on God's path, there won't be any problems. Just walk down that path." Well yes, you need to walk down God's path. But God doesn't promise to clear the rocks out if you follow His path. It's a hard road; ask anyone. Ask Jesus.

God does make us a promise though, in Psalm 81:13&16, "If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways...you would be fed with the finest wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you." 

You want to know where you can find God on this tough path? Ray says, "Here. The same rock that just brought you to your knees has just a taste of God in it." He goes on to state that there's just enough God in every rock, in every difficult circumstance in life's path to take one more step.

A Rabbi once wrote, "Be careful when you pray for honey. God may put it in a rock." Look back on your life. Take a good look.

Desert Path (redcliffsdesertreserve.com)

What do you see? I haven't lived that long, but I have had rocks along the path I've tread. Years back, about a year or two after we had first moved to China, I developed a fear of being left alone for any period of time. It eventually became so controlling that my parents could not leave the house without me sobbing and begging them not to leave. Each time they didn't answer their phones made me more panicky. One day, a dear friend of my family, "Aunt" Karla Ross, was at our house, watching my sisters and me while my parents were out of town. Aunt Karla had to go out and run some errands, and I began freaking out. Pretty much everyone in our community knew of my fear, and had been praying for me. On this day, Aunt Karla brought out her Bible and pointed me in the direction of some verses about faith and how we shouldn't be afraid. And I found honey in my rock... The prayers of our friends, the encouragement, the Bible verses... that was my honey. In time, I overcame that fear. I still feel it every once in a while, but when that happens I remind myself of the prayers of my friend and of God, who adores me. I have no wish to go through that again, but neither do I wish to trade it. Nor do I wish to erase the pain brought on by my great-grandmother's passing. I found honey in the comfort and fellowship of others during that time. To be honest, those were some of the times when I knew God most intimately. He was the honey, after all... :) Then, there were smaller stones in my life, such as school and language difficulties. But through in each of these stones, I tasted just enough of God to be able to take another step.

Please be on the right path, though. This promise that God gives us holds for one path, and path only: His. That's where I'm gonna be, and I hope to see you there.

Another point I want to make is that you and I do not walk this path alone. We are not the first to walk it, nor will we be the last. We can look down at a path, and oftentimes, we are able to make out footprints of people who had journeyed there in the past. We are not the only ones who deal with certain difficulties. And that is an encouraging thought, because that means we are not alone. In a sermon I heard a couple of weeks ago, the speaker said, "God only allows us to face trials and temptations that are common to man." People who went before us dealt with the same issues and trials we deal with today, and those who follow after us will deal with those things as well.

What happens when a path is walked over and over and over again? It becomes trampled. Another thing that occurs, though, is that it becomes ever so easier to walk for those after us. There is a Bedouin saying, "You keep a path clear for the next generation by walking it." Ray Vander Laan concludes, "...part of what the Bible teaches is life's path is tough, but leave it in a little better condition for the next person down the path." Their path will still be rough; it'll never be completely smooth until Christ returns. He goes on to ask, "But what if every one of us was determined to make the path for the next generation—our kids, our grandkids—the next generation, a clearer, easier path?"

So will you choose to walk that path with me? God's path? :)

Walking the Path (shutterstock.com)