Even in the Desert - God Will Make a Way

Even in the desert, where there is no water. Even on the sandy soil, where nothing grows. Even during the hardest times of life, when there seems to be no escape. God is with us.

It's no surprise that we go through "dry" periods of time in our lives. We speak of distress, depression, feeling isolated, being bullied, and losing a loved one. Some have lost a job or an opportunity.

This is the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, and Jewish people worldwide remember the trials that their forefathers suffered. 

Almost two million Jews spent 40 years in the desert before coming into their inheritance. Those who left Egypt died in the wilderness because they did not have faith in the Lord's ability to open up a way. All died except Joshua and Caleb.

Jesus also went through a period of testing in the desert. It was 40 days of fasting, and during that time, he experienced temptations that we all experience. We want easy access to food, popularity, and the power to awe persons around us. Jesus came through this time of testing and arrived at Nazareth, his home town. Luke records, "He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit."

In our church, we love to sing a song: 

God will make a way where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see. He will make a way for me. 

I'm celebrating these desert experiences with my friends this week, during Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, because it's one of the major times in Jesus life that he spoke about the Spirit. My you, my friend, be empowered with God's Holy Spirit through the toughest of times. May he comfort your heart today.

(I found this lovely scene on the road close to Philadelphia, Alasehir in modern day in Turkey. At the time, people I loved were going through a difficult time. The trees' position and the bend in the road caused me to stop and take this photograph. It reminds me that God was opening a way for those who were in my prayers at that moment, and he did! An amazing way was opened up, one I could never have imagined.)