Are you the adventurous type? Would you sign up for a desert challenge? Not many do, for the desert challenge is not for the faint in heart. This is what Greg Nance said of his participation in the Gobi March:
“The merciless sun and grueling hills of the Gobi savaged my taxed legs. In just three days, the Gobi Desert had already robbed me of my customary bravado. . . . In the weeks since finishing the Gobi March, friends and family have asked, “Why?” Why do people choose to endure such hardship with no reasonable expectation of money, fame or glory?”
Indeed, the desert has its own laws and its own challenges. Not many would sign up for a desert challenge, yet, in small or large ways, we will all face our own desert challenge.
Facing your desert challenge
You have those seasons in life that are dry, your desert challenge. It could be a sense of not reaching God, even though you know that God is there and God is hearing you. It could be a sense of being isolated. You’re far from everyone and everything familiar. Or, everyone and everything familiar is there but you feel alienated from it all. Sometimes the circumstances around you cause you to feel as if you’re going through treacherous, rocky hills, facing the constant danger of injury.
Whatever the reason, during your desert challenge you desperately need water to quench your thirst, a caring person to bandage your wounds and help you heal, and the impetus to overcome.
As we approach Lent, we remember Jesus’ desert experience. He fasted for 40 days in an extreme place. Given the relationship between fasting and praying, we take it that he was praying as he was fasting throughout that time.
Moving through your desert challenge
Thus, when you face your desert challenge;
- Fix your gaze on Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of your faith and draw strength from Christ’s overcoming.
- Remember that God is with you, whether or not you sense God’s presence. Take hold of God’s promises and constantly remind yourself of them.
- Don’t stop. Keep moving on, like the racers in the desert challenge. Know that God will see you through.
- Remember that the desert challenge is not permanent but a place that will propel you further than you had been before.
- Pray through the desert to streams of living water, as the theme of our Lent Devotional reminds you and takes you through this journey. Move from desert challenge to living water as you pray with honesty and full surrender.
Experience God more fully through honest, surrendered, heart praying and live with greater clarity and peace.
Image courtesy of fatherofsa at Pixabay.Com.
