Into the Desert
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. ––Mark 1:35
The older I get the more I appreciate the desert. As a kid I was a full-blown beach kid. Rafts (OG, baby), body surfing, Boogie (body) boards, then surfboards (short until I opted for the longboard post-40). Nearly 60 years of living in the water during the summer. The desert was something you drove through—or flew over—to get to where you “really” wanted to go.
That changed when difficulties started piling up in my life. Or, I should say, when I started to realize I had wounds that needed healing. Life can be brutal, you know? As you start working on yourself, it’s not so much layers of an onion as it is peel one onion to the nub and then start on the next onion. The desert resonates with me because it’s seemingly lifeless, lonely, and lacking in all the things we need to survive (water, food). But then I started spending time in places like the Mojave Desert and Death Valley, and I realized the desert is full of life.
When you are in the desert, you can’t avoid the quiet. And when you turn down the volume of everyday life you can hear God’s voice. It’s always there; it’s just now you can actually hear it. We all need a “desert”—a place where we can tune out the world and tune in to God’s voice. Where is it for you? Even if you live in the heart of a city, do what you can to get alone with God for a concentrated period of time on a regular basis.
Hard to do? Yes, but the bottom line is that we put time into what we prioritize. And when you unplug, do it without your cell phone, Apple watch, or other digital tethers.
When you do, you will hear His voice.
Father, help me drown out the static so I can hear Your loving voice.