Journey into Light

In some ways I am.

I am between two church homes. Nearly two years ago, God led me to leave a church that I had been active in for 31 years.

I had grown accustomed to its traditions and values. I had gotten used to being a respected leader. I had grown to like being needed. I felt like I was a part of a small community, surrounded by cousins, nephews, nieces, and like-minded friends who were living life together with me.

And now it was gone!

Gone was experiencing a lot of respect from others. Gone were many of my friends that I lived life with. Gone were the church traditions and structure that I had grown used to. Gone was the sense that I was much needed.

I felt like I was living in a desert.

When we lose a church, a job, a relationship, our health or anything important to us we can feel dry and empty. We can feel pain and wonder where God is in this desert.

Yet, this can be a great opportunity to grow!

We often become overly dependent on our comfortable circumstances instead of relying on God. We can rely on traditions and structure too much to feel safe instead of,  “[I] am your refuge and your strength” (Psalm 46:1, NAS).

We can rely too much on the approval of friends instead of the approval of God. “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me” (Psalm 27:10, NIV).

We can depend too much on being needed by others to feel important, instead of, “You are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4, NAS).

In the desert, these idols will do us no good.

We are stuck in our pain of feeling scared, of not feeling as approved of, and not feeling as significant.

What are we to do? Redouble our efforts to fulfill our needs in the next church? Or follow Jeremiah’s counsel:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:5, NAS).

The desert gives us an opportunity to turn to God in a deeper way to meet the needs that we were meeting through idols. Idols can be people’s approval, worth through being needed, and clinging to traditions and structures.

God promises to come through for us in the desert. Listen to what he promises:

“Blessed [are you] who trusts in [Me], whose confidence is in [Me]. [You] will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8, NIV).

So, have you lost something important in your life? Are you living in the desert? Ask God to help you to trust him to provide for your needs that are not getting met because you are living in the desert. “I do believe, help me in my unbelief” (Mark 9:24, NAS).