If we never witness the darkness, can we really understand the light? If you have not experienced bitter cold, can you truly appreciate the warmth of a fire? (Have you ever wanted a warm fire on a hot day?) I wonder...if you've yet to experience the depths of despair, is it possible to grasp the heights of pure joy?
This life we live is one of extreme opposites. Coincidence? I don't believe so. Will we ever really understand one extreme without experiencing it's exact opposite?
Extreme opposites:
Overwhelming chaos; peaceful order.
Sheer exhaustion; quiet rest.
Crashing waves; water, still as glass.
How can we fully experience one without the other? We must have a point of reference, one to compare the other.
A dry parched desert; Rivers of Living Water.
How desolate, lonely and dangerous the desert can be. The ground so void of water that it cracks under the intense heat of the sun. The only thing a gentle breeze stirs up in this place is dust. Venemous and deadly snakes inhabit the sands with wild animals crossing their paths. If you don't die of thirst then one of the these may surely kill you. The desert shows no mercy and is no respector of persons. Whether prince or pauper, if not rescued, both will die by the unmerciful hand of one of the above mentioned perils. As you walk through it's endless desolation, no water in sight, your body is depleted of life giving water. Generally, our bodies which are made up of approximately 75% water, can only survive three to five days without water. Dehydration sets in with symptoms of headache, diziness, lethargy and eventually death. How imperative this water that brings us life.
Deadly dehydration; life giving water.
Extreme opposites.
Isn't the dryness of the parched throat the very cause of the thirst? How can you desperately crave the life giving water without first feeling thirsty?
"On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him". John 7:37-38
Let's take the physical and parallel it to the spiritual just as Jesus always does so perfectly. When we experience times of spritual or emotional dryness where we may feel like God is far away or even silent, we often liken it to "being in the desert". Coincidence? I don't think so. Here are those terrible yet beautiful extreme opposites once again. I don't know if you're like me, but that is when I find myself crying out, "It is so dry in this desert, can I get a drink please?!" What will quench our spiritual thirst in the "desert" we so often find ourselves in? Only the Living Water, Jesus Himself.
"Come, all you who are thirsty; come to the waters;" Isaiah 55:1
"Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink', you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'" John 4:10
The desert can be a lonely and scary place indeed. It is here that you may see that slithering "serpent of old" just below the sand at your feet who looks like he is coming to get you. Fearsome things love the desolation in this place. Sometimes there are even wild animals. But guess what? Sometimes there are also angels! In Mark 1:12-13 we see a perfect example;
"Immediately the Spirit drove Him (Jesus) into the wilderness (desert). And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him."
If you are walking with Jesus, living your life believing and trusting in His sacrifice of death on the cross of crucifixion for you and that He rose from the dead on the third day and now lives and is seated as Lord at the right hand of God, then you are never alone, even though at times it may feel like it. In Hebrews 13:5b we read, "For He Himself has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."
Jesus, fully man, fully God, suffered on our behalf spiritually, physically and emotionally before we were ever even born, far more than we could possibly imagine. But even through all of this, He gave us the most beautiful metaphor. Our beautiful Messiah, the Living Water Himself got up and walked right out of that desert having defeated all temptations of satan. Because He endured before us, we can now endure any desert through His strength He now gives us. Just imagine, all loneliness, depression, pain, exhaustion, hunger, thirst or anything else you may be experiencing in your own "desert", endurable. (Is that a word?)
All that said, I share this becuase these are the very things that Jesus spoke to my own heart two nights ago after coming out of one of my own "deserts " recently. I am a fellow desert dweller. In my most recent walk through the dry desert I saw the bulge of the serpent slithering under the sands. Experienced a desperate thirst for the presence of my King as He "seemed " to be silent. I felt exhaustion from the intensity of the battle and with parched throat cried out, "Can I get a drink in this place please?" And alas, as He always does so faithfully, my Jesus and Living Water, gave me the most full and refreshing glass of water I could have hoped for.
As I was awakened in the middle of the night to His Spirit pouring over me, granting me the very thing I asked for, I told Him this; "Thank you! I missed You so much and the desert was so dry!" To this I felt His reply, "But if you never felt the dryness of the desert, how could you appreciate the sweetness of the water of My Spirit?" It all became crystal clear in that moment for me. Never again would I lament this desert. If He seems quiet, I will welcome it and trust Him in the midst no matter what, as I wait for Him. From now on I will embrace these times in the desert because in this place of extremes I learn to love even more it's opposite, the place where the sweet Living Water of my God washes over me. His very Presence. Refreshing, renewing and filling me with a wonder that will never cease.
So, if you are a fellow desert dweller as I am and find yourself parched and exhausted in this dry desert, please remember two things for me...
"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High God dwells." Psalm 46:4
"I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs." Isaiah 41:18
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Beth
This life we live is one of extreme opposites. Coincidence? I don't believe so. Will we ever really understand one extreme without experiencing it's exact opposite?
Extreme opposites:
Overwhelming chaos; peaceful order.
Sheer exhaustion; quiet rest.
Crashing waves; water, still as glass.
How can we fully experience one without the other? We must have a point of reference, one to compare the other.
A dry parched desert; Rivers of Living Water.
How desolate, lonely and dangerous the desert can be. The ground so void of water that it cracks under the intense heat of the sun. The only thing a gentle breeze stirs up in this place is dust. Venemous and deadly snakes inhabit the sands with wild animals crossing their paths. If you don't die of thirst then one of the these may surely kill you. The desert shows no mercy and is no respector of persons. Whether prince or pauper, if not rescued, both will die by the unmerciful hand of one of the above mentioned perils. As you walk through it's endless desolation, no water in sight, your body is depleted of life giving water. Generally, our bodies which are made up of approximately 75% water, can only survive three to five days without water. Dehydration sets in with symptoms of headache, diziness, lethargy and eventually death. How imperative this water that brings us life.
Deadly dehydration; life giving water.
Extreme opposites.
Isn't the dryness of the parched throat the very cause of the thirst? How can you desperately crave the life giving water without first feeling thirsty?
"On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him". John 7:37-38
Let's take the physical and parallel it to the spiritual just as Jesus always does so perfectly. When we experience times of spritual or emotional dryness where we may feel like God is far away or even silent, we often liken it to "being in the desert". Coincidence? I don't think so. Here are those terrible yet beautiful extreme opposites once again. I don't know if you're like me, but that is when I find myself crying out, "It is so dry in this desert, can I get a drink please?!" What will quench our spiritual thirst in the "desert" we so often find ourselves in? Only the Living Water, Jesus Himself.
"Come, all you who are thirsty; come to the waters;" Isaiah 55:1
"Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink', you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'" John 4:10
The desert can be a lonely and scary place indeed. It is here that you may see that slithering "serpent of old" just below the sand at your feet who looks like he is coming to get you. Fearsome things love the desolation in this place. Sometimes there are even wild animals. But guess what? Sometimes there are also angels! In Mark 1:12-13 we see a perfect example;
"Immediately the Spirit drove Him (Jesus) into the wilderness (desert). And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him."
If you are walking with Jesus, living your life believing and trusting in His sacrifice of death on the cross of crucifixion for you and that He rose from the dead on the third day and now lives and is seated as Lord at the right hand of God, then you are never alone, even though at times it may feel like it. In Hebrews 13:5b we read, "For He Himself has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."
Jesus, fully man, fully God, suffered on our behalf spiritually, physically and emotionally before we were ever even born, far more than we could possibly imagine. But even through all of this, He gave us the most beautiful metaphor. Our beautiful Messiah, the Living Water Himself got up and walked right out of that desert having defeated all temptations of satan. Because He endured before us, we can now endure any desert through His strength He now gives us. Just imagine, all loneliness, depression, pain, exhaustion, hunger, thirst or anything else you may be experiencing in your own "desert", endurable. (Is that a word?)
All that said, I share this becuase these are the very things that Jesus spoke to my own heart two nights ago after coming out of one of my own "deserts " recently. I am a fellow desert dweller. In my most recent walk through the dry desert I saw the bulge of the serpent slithering under the sands. Experienced a desperate thirst for the presence of my King as He "seemed " to be silent. I felt exhaustion from the intensity of the battle and with parched throat cried out, "Can I get a drink in this place please?" And alas, as He always does so faithfully, my Jesus and Living Water, gave me the most full and refreshing glass of water I could have hoped for.
As I was awakened in the middle of the night to His Spirit pouring over me, granting me the very thing I asked for, I told Him this; "Thank you! I missed You so much and the desert was so dry!" To this I felt His reply, "But if you never felt the dryness of the desert, how could you appreciate the sweetness of the water of My Spirit?" It all became crystal clear in that moment for me. Never again would I lament this desert. If He seems quiet, I will welcome it and trust Him in the midst no matter what, as I wait for Him. From now on I will embrace these times in the desert because in this place of extremes I learn to love even more it's opposite, the place where the sweet Living Water of my God washes over me. His very Presence. Refreshing, renewing and filling me with a wonder that will never cease.
So, if you are a fellow desert dweller as I am and find yourself parched and exhausted in this dry desert, please remember two things for me...
"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High God dwells." Psalm 46:4
"I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs." Isaiah 41:18
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Beth
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