The Desert in Our Life

Deserts can be a terrible place to be found in. It’s hot and harsh, with no life, no water, no vegetation in sight for miles and miles. The extreme weather and arid condition can make life miserable, depressing, thirsty, hungry and unbearable. Deserts can be dangerous, frightening and lonely. We are desperate for water - an oasis. It can sometimes seem as if we are living in a desert-type condition in our relationships and situations. We can be faced with all kinds of challenges, fear and disappointments. We are alone in a distressful environment, perhaps with no-one and nowhere to turn to.

In Psalm 107:4-5, it is stated that some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. (Verses 10-12), some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the ‘Most High’. So, He subjected them to bitter labour. They stumbled, and there was no one to help (Verses 17-18). Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death.

In each of these situations, the people cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. God brought them out of darkness and gloom and broke away their chains. God sent forth His word and healed them. He rescued them from the grave. God stilled the storm to a whisper. God turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs. He caused the hungry to live. They sowed fields and planted vineyards which yielded a fruitful harvest. He lifted the needy out of their affliction. Sometimes, we get ourselves in situations where we need to examine our lives and our walk with God.

We need to look for the oasis. An oasis is where life is. It is where we get refreshed and our thirst is quenched. It is where things grow and are fruitful in the desert. It is where Jesus is. Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, ‘He said, everyone who drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water well up to eternal life.’ It is where you will no longer be thirsty, hungry and lifeless. Jesus is the oasis of life.

Perhaps you can relate to this and would like to pray the following prayer.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I am sorry that I have wandered away from You. I have allowed the demands of life to distract me, tried my own way to solve the problems in life. I have attempted to be self-focussed and self-sufficient. I have lost my way and feel like I am now in a desert. Father, I ask that You come to show me the way and lead me out of this desert by Your Spirit, to the living water. LORD, I want to go to the oasis where there is life. For I now know that Jesus is the oasis of life. Thank You for Your grace and mercy. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.