Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I’ve been feeling a little like I’m wandering around in the desert lately for some reason, so I approached the Throne of a Mighty God and searched for the reasons why. Sometimes when we’re “in the desert” it comes from our own doing, but sometimes God “steps back” a little and He leaves us there for Reasons of His own too. Either way, I don’t like it in the desert and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get out. The first thing on the list is to search my own Heart to be sure it’s in Good Condition, and if I find anything there that needs to be confessed…I’ll confess it! If I don’t find anything in my Heart on my own, I’ll ask Him to reveal it to me. After I’ve done my part, I wait for God to do His…He won’t stop at just seeing me through the desert…He’ll reveal the reason for it too…IF I examine my Heart, confess my wrongs, and then Trust that He has a Plan. Isn’t that the way you cope with the desert too?

It can be so easy to run to God with every question (and demand answers when we do) – but God doesn’t need to explain Himself, and no matter how hard we try we’ll NEVER understand His ways completely. The Lord declares “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to try to figure out what He’s up to! We never need to worry about His Part…His Part will always be Perfect. What we really need to worry about is OUR part…and for most people that’s the hardest part of all. Time in the desert isn’t always self-inflicted, but most of the time it is. Usually, there is something hidden away in the Heart that needs to be Refined, and nothing works (for me) like being in the desert to get my attention. So, when I find myself in the desert, I don’t panic. I don’t demand answers and I don’t point fingers. Instead, I take care of my part to be sure I’m not the reason for being in the desert….and then I patiently wait for my Marching Orders to find my way out. It’s lonely in the desert…I don’t like it there. But there’s one thing that helps me endure – I know for sure that what’s on the other side of the desert is something so beautiful that I could NEVER have come up with on my own. This is the Key to Growing the way God wants to Grow us sometimes.

I can see why so many people are inclined to demand that God explain Himself when things are quiet because that’s the way most people live. When someone goes quiet in our world, we begin demanding answers. We want to know what’s wrong with them. We want to know what their problem is for being in the desert and we let them know we don’t like it and that it’s time to come out. But how many people pause to examine their OWN heart and their OWN behavior that just might be the cause for the desert BEFORE they attack the quiet one for being there. The first step in any relationship is to examine your own heart before you start in on somebody else’s. Once you are at peace that your own heart, intentions, and attitude are in order and you are CERTAIN you have nothing to ask forgiveness for yourself, THEN it’s time to turn to them. But since most people don’t like being in the desert any more than I do, they demand answers from God and everybody else INSTEAD of turning within. It doesn’t take a “doormat” to look within first….it takes a Warrior to do that… and it’s not a job for wussies. But when we’re willing to look within to be SURE that the Heart is in order BEFORE we turn to God or anybody else, there is something so beautiful on the other side that we never could have come up with on our own. This is the Key to Maturity…in and out of our Faith.

I’ve done my Part to work my way out of the desert and I found a few things that I needed to reconcile with God….that’s what Humility looks like – the kind of Humility that grows our Faith and Refines our Character. I don’t like it in the desert but I am absolutely certain that what I see on the other side will be so Beautiful that my time in the desert will have been well worth it. He has a Plan…He’s Refining me with a little Fire…and I’m Trusting Him with me.

How about you?

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”