You already know that I learned of Jesus’ love for me and His offer of forgiveness for my sins when I was just eight years old. And you likely know that I would say that despite my age-eight acceptance of His forgiveness, I’d say that I didn’t begin to walk with Him until I was sixteen. Someone may wonder, “What’s the difference?” and I suppose I’d put it this way:

When I say I learned of (and received) Jesus’ forgiveness, I mean that it was a transactional decision. And when I say I began to walk with Jesus, I mean that it was a relational decision.

I wonder if you’ve made that relational decision yet. I pray you have. Not because I’m a pastor or a church-goer or because you think I’m “religious.” I actually don’t put one ounce of value in any of those things. What I want for you is to know the transformational love of the God who created you, knows you, and wants you. Now, let me say more to the point what I mean. I want you to have solid ground to stand on. Apart from Jesus, solid ground doesn’t exist. In Him, you will have peace when the world feels unstable (when does it not?), joy even in times of turmoil or tragedy, hope in the face of the uncertain future, and an abundance of love given directly from God Himself for you, but not just for you–so that it might overflow* through your life to those around you. Inexpressible joy, unwavering peace, boundless hope, and unending love. THAT’S what I want for you, and only Jesus has it because only Jesus IS all those things.

So, do the math. I’m currently fifty-one years old *gulp*, and I started walking with Jesus at age sixteen. Let’s see, that means I’ve walked with him….give me a minute….for thirty-five years.

In those thirty-five years, I can tell you that a large portion of that time has been spent in what some might call a desert land. In my younger understanding of spirituality and my grasp of what it means to walk with Jesus, I would have told you that desert = bad. I mean, deserts are dry, lifeless, exhausting, and there just isn’t much attractive about being in a desert. We’ve all seen some movie where some poor guy is dragging himself on his belly through the desert, breathing this gasping desire… “Water….please…water…”

It’s even found its way into our language as Jesus’ followers. When we share with others about how we are doing spiritually, we use words like “desert”, “stale”, “dry”, and it all means that our spiritual lives are kind of waning; that we aren’t really where we want to be. It’s a season we’re trying to simply survive.

But there’s a scriptural reality that I fear we have not only overlooked but negated in our modern view of desert seasons. I submit to you that not only did Jesus love the desert, and longed for the desert, but practically speaking, the deepest, richest ministry happens in the desert.

What must happen is that we view those “desert” seasons of our lives as seasons of strengthening, intimacy, and preparation. Yet we commonly see them as weakening, distancing, and purposeless.

Look with me at the gospels. Let’s go with Mark, whose gospel account was actually written first. I personally love Mark because he’s just interested in the action of Jesus’ life. His writing focuses far less on the words of Jesus and more on the ways of Jesus. At the start of his account, Mark tells about how John was in the “wilderness” preaching the message of the Kingdom, and that Jesus came out to John to be baptized.

Did you get that? Blink, and you’ll miss it: Jesus went out to the desert to be baptized. God the Father’s public declaration of Jesus’ identity and His public ministry began in the desert. In fact, it’s the only place in scripture where the Trinity is manifest in a publicly perceptible way: The Father’s voice audibly heard from heaven, the Son standing in the river, and the Spirit descending like a dove. What if, instead of lamenting the desert times in our lives, we chose to view them as where new things start?

Not convinced? Look at what happened IMMEDIATELY after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River…. This time let’s look at Matthew’s gospel account…. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness…” (Matt. 4:1)

What?!? God the Spirit led God the Son into the desert in preparation for the ministry that would ultimately glorify God the Father? Yep. That’s EXACTLY what happened.

So when you find yourself tempted to think that your spiritual desert place is a place of lifelessness, purposelessness, or directionlessness, understand that the desert is where God BEGINS the work. It’s where God PREPARES us for the new chapter. It’s where God PROVES His nearness and faithfulness.

As part of my grad school journey, I read a book by Henri Nouwen called “The Way of the Heart” and it speaks deeply to this whole idea of how we view the desert. I recommend it to you highly. You can order your own copy here.

It is at this point that my heart wants to hit the gas pedal and pour out more content, sharing more of my thoughts about this topic. But my mind says, “Stop here. That’s enough. You want people to read this, right?”

So here I’ll stop and turn to you. What are your thoughts on this? What are your desert-place experiences? Does anything here resonate with you, or prove helpful?

*A couple of years ago, I co-authored a devotional book called “Overflow”. If you’d like a copy of that 52-week devotional book, please reach out and let me know. I’d be happy to send you one of the few copies I have left.