When I heard that I was supposed to preach about the desert, to be honest, I wanted to switch with someone. Can I not have something with action? A war maybe? Or something packed like the Sermon on the Mount? I mean, what is there to say about a random person spending time apart from water and food? For me it felt a bit like someone telling me to talk about the genealogy of Abraham. I couldn’t really see the difference between never ending dunes of sand and a long list of names and ages. It took me some days until the topic grew on me. And now, even though there are still a few days left, I can’t wait to speak about it. For I realized that every one of us is either in some sort of desert situation in our lives or knows someone who is or both. So we either could use some encouragement for ourselves or we could be an encouragement for others (or both).
From time to time it happens that I make a stupid decision. And one of the bad things about being stupid is, that there are usually consequences. In relationships that might cause loosing trust. At work it might cause being fired. Breaking the law might even cause prison time or worse. And in one way or the other these consequences can feel like being in a desert. But when I talk about times in the desert, that is exactly not what I mean. When bad things happen because of bad decisions it is the law of cause and effect. And as hard as it is, we have to own them and admit that it is our fault that we are where we are. But deserts are those dry times we find ourselves in without having caused them. And that is precisely the reason why times in the desert are so difficult.
A while ago I read the book “Man’s Search for Meaning” by the Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. As a Jew he survived the concentration camps (including Auschwitz) and wrote about that experience in this book. Due to his psychiatric training he was not only an inmate but also a councilor to the others and so he paints an interesting picture of what was going on in the minds and souls of himself and of his fellow prisoners. He even gave seminars in the barracks to help the people around him. And on one of the invitations to such a gathering he wrote something everybody needs to hear who endures hard times:
“Nothing in this world empowers a human being more to overcome outer difficulties and inner trouble than the awareness of having a purpose in life.”
He had learned that, by studying the differences between inmates that died (without being killed) and those who did not. The survivors had a sense of being needed when all that was over. Someone or something out there was waiting for them. For Viktor Frankl it was a book about Logotherapy (Frankl’s therapeutic approach, focusing on the human need to find meaning in life) he had to rewrite after the Nazis took the manuscript when he was incarcerated. And when we look at people in the Bible we see the same pattern. Noah new that God would not let him die on the ark so he checked time and time again to see when the flood was over. Abraham believed that God would give him a son, even though Sarah was way past “do date” (it’s not a typo it’s a pun and a bad one, I admit). Josef held on to his dream to be great in God’s eyes when he was in the darkest of places. I could name a lot more. In Hebrews 12:2 is says that Jesus was able to endure the cross because of the joy that was before him. He knew what was on the other side and that made it possible to suffer through all the pain and hardship.
But besides having a purpose every one of them looked to God as the source of all their needs. Some had no other chance. Noah had to wait for God to remove the water. Abraham tried to find is own way with Ismael but that surely caused more trouble so he fell back on God to do as He had promised. Josef, though presented with a lot of chances, never tried to defend himself. He waited for God to act. And Jesus only did what He saw the Father do anyway. And holding on to the promises of God over their lives they did not try to take any shortcuts. The road was laid before them by their Father in Heaven and nothing could make them drift away.
So what do we do, when we find ourselves in difficult times? We need to answer the question “Why?”. For when we know a reason to go through the tough times and it is a good one, we will be able to pull through. For the inmates without a reason, Viktor Frankl saw the same pattern over and over again. One morning they refused to stand up and no guard in the world could convince them to change their mind. And the morning after they were dead. Giving up on life their bodies refused to function any longer. And if we don’t find a reason why, we should go to God and to friends and ask them. “Give me a great reason to endure the desert!” Say that to God and I know He will answer you. He may even use your friends and family to do so.
And in all of that, cling to God and don’t drift away from Him, for He is the one who gives you the strength you need. He is the one who allowed the hard times to form and strengthen you. A tree that never endured a storm is not strong enough to carry its own fruits. But this is, what God wants to give you. Lots and lots of fruit. But he also has to make sure that you are able to carry them. So hold on to God, follow His lead, and look at His light at the end of your tunnel. For He will surely do as He has promised. And when you find someone wandering alone is the dessert, give him a helping hand. For it is far better to walk together then all by yourself.
