Wandering in the desert

For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. Isaiah 35:6-7 KJV

Having grown up in the beautiful Arizona desert, and living as an adult in an arid climate, I am quite conscious of where to find the air conditioning vents in a building, and how to arrange my garden to be water-wise. Many of my annual flowers and garden vegetables are planted in hanging pots or in large containers with wheels, so they can be moved to sun or shade according to season, allowing the plants to become perennials or to prolong their seasons.

Fresh water is precious to all life, and in many regions of the world, is scarce. Since time immemorial, battles have been fought over water and its potential to sustain life, refresh the thirsty, irrigate crops, carry boats and ships, cleanse, and provide recreation and refreshment. Some cultures worshiped gods of wells, rivers and lakes. Even carrying or storing water and generating energy by its movement is a major part of life—and strife—in the 21st century. Civilizations are displaced by drought and by wars over arable land.

The joyful song in Isaiah 35 follows a story of the destruction of the wicked, and the barrenness and desolation of the Judean desert abandoned to wild animals. After their conquest and kidnapping by foreigners, the Lord brings his children home from captivity—ironically, their exile was in Babylon, which we know today as a featureless wasteland.

Finding a stream in the desert is finding a miracle. Flowing water only happens after a thunderstorm, or when snows melt at high elevation. Springs of water reaching the surface are even more rare. Usually the water evaporates a short distance from the source, or permeates the sand and soil to join an underground stream or aquifer.

I return to this scripture, Isaiah 35, several times a month because its contrast between barrenness and fulfillment speaks to my heart. I’ve experienced the desert in both seasons. I’ve been the desert in drought. I’m the dry, thirsty sand, waiting for rain to not only soak in, but fill me up so I can burst into bloom and be a source of even more love.

Every day and night since I was a child, I’ve prayed for the one desire of my life: to be loved by one man, and to love in return. The desire of my heart is to be loved unconditionally. But that hasn’t been given to me yet. The love of friends and family, which I enjoy in abundance, is not the same thing. God gave me a promise years ago that I’d be delighted in, sought after, considered beautiful, and that I’d be married. I believe he means in this life; but as the years pass, some of my friends say that maybe God means that he will be my husband. That is not comforting at all. I need arms to hold me, and lips to kiss me, and a chest on which to rest my head. I need to be comfort and encouragement, a delight to his heart and a jewel to be proud of.

“Look in the scroll of the LORD and read: None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate. For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together.” Isaiah 34:16 NIV Even the wild animals have their place in the order of creation, and they have their mates and raise their young.

A dear friend suggested that all the loves in this life are a raindrop compared to the ocean of eternity (another water metaphor), and if love didn’t come to me in this lifetime, it would happen in God’s kingdom. But I can’t be satisfied with a hope that someday, in heaven, true love will come to me. Some believe there will be no marriage in heaven. But my 50 years of life are all the eternity I know. It’s my whole life until now. All I’ve known is to love but not be loved in return. My heart physically aches when I think about loving because it’s squeezing itself dry, and there’s nothing coming in.

I can’t bear the thought of living another 35 years to die unloved and unfulfilled in that way, then wake to eternity as a genderless spirit full of agapé love for everyone. I can barely cope with the thought of weeks or months of comfortless existence. If scriptures are not to be taken personally, here and now, then why give us promises and hope at all? Why give the gift of loving, but not also the gift of receiving love? Why create the need for emotional and sexual love but not the ability to express it in a way acceptable to God? But for many years I have single-mindedly asked for love, and my heart is still empty. It’s been starved.

One argument put forth by Christians is that this is a sinful world, not intended by the Creator to be anything other than blissful, but that sin and its consequences have destroyed and mutated the plan of abundant living. But if we stop right there and are satisfied with that answer, then we negate Christ’s victory on the cross, and that he took our infirmities and punishment upon himself so that we could have his peace, his power, his health, his strength. We surrender the dunamis (dynamite) power that he has given us to do miracles in his name. And we give in to the notion that we, the redeemed, are martyred and persecuted and we have to live a dreary existence, hiding in caves until Jesus comes. No! We are crowned with victory and have been given the title deed to the kingdom of God.

We know from many scriptures that God will supply all our needs because he loves us; that he won’t provide a scorpion when we ask for breakfast, or a stone when we ask for a sandwich; that we can call him Daddy (“Abba”) and cast every care on him; and that we have full access to our inheritance and God’s presence because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

He not only gives us what we need, but what we “wish,” (John 15:7-8), and the “desires of our heart” (Psalm 37:4-6). It’s not the good works we do or the bad things we refrain from that determine God’s providence: it’s his love for us and his desire to make us whole and restored. I don’t believe that every prayer request has to be about enlarging the kingdom of God. He wants us to know from whom all blessings flow, and he delights to give us gifts.

It’s been said that nothing attracts love like being loving. But expressing love to some people will send them running because they were willing to settle for mere affection with no obligation. Others, even Christians, substitute instant-attraction physical intimacy for real love which takes time to grow, and call it “being in a relationship.” And they wonder why they get burned or why God doesn’t seem to bless them.

So I stand out in the desert, looking for that towering thundercloud to bring cool, sweet, blessed rain. Turn me, Lord, from a pit of dry sand into a wetlands of abundance. Instead of greedily soaking up any drop of rain that falls, send so much rain that I will be the bubbling spring of life-giving water.

“For true love is inexhaustible; the more you give, the more you have. And if you go to draw at the true fountainhead, the more water you draw, the more abundant is its flow.” ~Antoine De Saint-Exupery, 1900-1944, French writer.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. Isaiah 35:6,7 NIV

Heaven on earth

Friends asked on a private forum, “What is heaven-on-earth to you?” Here are some of the answers:
...When my son laughs with complete and utter abandon—for any reason. ...The herbs and vegetables we've grown from seeds on our front porch. ...Being with people who love and care about me.
...Sweet pineapple and cottage cheese in the same bowl.
...Heaven is being in the arms of someone who loves me for me.
...Seeing the pure glee of children as you enter a house and they drop everything, scream your name, and run toward you with open arms and hug your leg so hard (before you can get your shoes off and drop your bags) that you almost fall over!
...Heaven is warm: a nice warm cup of cocoa, a cuddly blanket by a warm fire, a warm and cozy bed, a warm embrace.
...Heaven is my cat laying on my chest purring loudly, and my dog licking my toes with his warm tongue.
...The scent of citrus blossoms on a meandering breeze.
...Immersion in a pipe organ concert in an English cathedral.
...Licking a spoon of hot peach jam made from home-grown peaches.
...A Heath-covered Klondike ice cream bar.
...The middle of a great book.
...The moment you realize you're being used by God to help another.
...The Milky Way seen from the floor of the Grand Canyon.
...The scent of rain on creosote in the Arizona desert.

The last seven phrases are mine. We were having a rare bit of precipitation in California, and I was reminiscing about how much I love a spring storm in the Arizona desert, with its multicolor lightning, chiaroscuro clouds that dwarf the highest mountains, the sweet herbal scents, the germination of poppies and daisies so fast you can almost see it, and watching dry gullies fill with flash floods that recede to pools where frogs and fish miraculously appear from the reconstituted earth.

The Lord loves a desert storm, too! Isaiah 35:1-7 NLT tells of His ideal party for those He loves and redeems. Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the LORD will display his glory, the splendor of our God. With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.

Streams in the desert. For those who live in a land of plenteous water, this may not resonate within. But to people born and raised in a desert, water does beautiful and miraculous things. It springs from a rock. Turns to blood. Washes away impurity. It is a display of the glory and splendor of God. To the Israelites of the exodus and their Egyptian oppressors, to the Jews exiled to Assyria and Mesopotamia, to anyone who experiences a drought,

God has often used the medium of water, indispensable to human life, as a metaphor for Himself. He is the living water and the river of life. In Isaiah 43:19-21 NIV, the Lord says, See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

If you’ve recently experienced violent storms and are facing deep and wide rivers in your life, remember that God provides a way through them (Isaiah 43:2) because He loves you. You are precious and honored in His sight! Rivers are not barriers when He leads the way, but channels of blessing and life-giving nutrients. Jesus said that the water He gives will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” Isaiah 35:3,4 NLT. God loves us and is coming to save us. That is heaven on earth. That is good news. That is the gospel.

Signs on the way

A few months ago, the funniest news on the Internet was that Google Maps had mapped a route from any address in the United Kingdom to any address in the United States. At about Number 29 on the instructions, one is told to drive through the Channel Tunnel, then through France, then to swim to Boston and start driving again. Time at sea, 29 days.

Karen, the driver, and Jill, the navigator, drove slowly through the New Zealand resort town on the way to the geyser park entrance. Karen kept her eyes on heavy traffic and asked which intersection they’d just crossed. Jill couldn’t see, so they stopped at the curb and Jill hopped out to see the street sign. But it was information only, not street names. Arrows pointed in different directions to landmarks. As Jill slid back into the car, she laughed and said, “That was the corner of Hospital and Toilet streets!”

Along Hwy U.S. 89 in northern Arizona, there is a small, green sign on the Navajo Indian Reservation which reads, “Six Mile Village (3 miles).”

A signpost on a dusty, rutted road in rural Queen Creek, Arizona, says “Happy Rd. Dead End.”

Signs are meant to tell us where we are. What to expect. Or where to go. It’s very helpful to have signs on street-corner poles or nicely lit at night. It’s more difficult when they’re placed at different heights on walls, obscured by vegetation, vandalized, or missing altogether.

When we read words on the computer screen or the page, we’re reading alphabet letters combined into phonemes and words (mind-images in themselves); words join in phrases and sentences to convey a concept. Here’s a similar process: black dots on a grid signify a pitch; when they’re joined in a melody line or in harmonic chord progression, we call it music. Mathematics: let’s not go there!

On national holidays, we salute the flag, sing patriotic music, and celebrate the culture and traditions of our fore-parents. When we sign a name to documents, we promise, on our reputation and temporal goods, to honor the agreement.

God has given us signs which are timeless. There are hundreds of them, including the rainbow, the cross, communion, and the natural world. Many people had visions of the future which included symbols and metaphors.

Jesus performed “signs” and wonders, but never on demand or to prove Himself; rather, His signs showed only the love of God for humankind: healing, resurrection, grace, provision, restoration. He signed His name to the covenant which guarantees not condemnation, but eternal life for our souls. On the cross, His wounds and lash marks signified our healing. His perfect baptism is ours by faith, whether we’re baptized in a church’s font, a lake, or a barrel. The yoke that symbolizes our unbearable burden of “trying” to be saved is not ours to shoulder—but Jesus’ yoke entirely.

The signs and miracles of God and His saints are not a thing of the past. They’re not a distant-future event to be wished for. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are ours, NOW. The voice in your heart that says to turn to the left or right is God’s voice writing His will for your life. He is empowering you to be the sign of God on earth. You are God’s signature to unbelievers. What an honor and what a responsibility!
Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. Mark 16:20 NIV.

God has changed your life. Even in the moments of reading this article, He is giving you the spark that will flare up and dispel the darkness. Take the name of Jesus with you. It’s a sign that will mean different things to different people. But He will put His sign in their hearts, too. Lives will be changed. And changed lives have a large and legible sign—a testimony that changes other lives.

Signs on the way can tell us where we are, what to expect, or where we’re going. What does your sign say?

Unexpected beauty

Just days ago, I was given the opportunity to see Arizona’s desert up close for the first time in years. Many people imagine the desert as a harsh environment, with rocks and sand (check!), spiny cacti (check!), strong sun (check, but just after vernal equinox, so it was very pleasant), and venomous insects and reptiles drooling for tender human flesh (none this time). Artist conceptions of heaven should depict it from other perspectives than tall conifers, ferns, and grassy meadows!

For those who look for beauty, beauty abounds. In the desert, tiny purple flowers and blue lupine, yellow brittlebush daisies, jewel-toned petals of the hedgehog cactus, gold-blooming palo verde trees, and long-stemmed scarlet ocotillos compete for space with sage-green saguaro cactus, which are budding for a creamy-white flowering in June. Brushing the tiny creosote leaves reminds one of the sweet scent of rain on the thirsty desert. A seasonal creek trickles through a tiny canyon of concreted multicolored gravel, 12 feet beneath the trail. A flower grows among sharp stones. The sky is brilliant blue with a white half-moon rising over the violet mountains to the east, and a breeze carries a floral scent. In the distance, a waterway gleams silver. Unexpected beauty.

In Egypt, ten massive, deadly disasters have struck all civilization from the animals and servants to the rulers. But on a clear night with a gigantic full moon and millions of stars, the numberless descendants of Abraham walked away from years of misery and marched triumphantly into the trackless desert – with relief and joy that they’d been passed over by death. In the Promised Land centuries later, Israel, again trapped by foreign domination and slavery, saw the Messiah slain as their Passover Lamb, and experienced His resurrection that conquered death and set the prisoners free. Unexpected beauty.

A woman hears an ambulance siren in the distance, but instead of going on with what she is doing, she stops and asks the Lord to bless the victims of illness or accident who require the emergency service. A group of recently-divorced people, instead of repeating their misery and intense pain to each other, volunteer at a kitchen for the homeless and find fellowship, fulfillment, and unexpected joy by selflessly serving the addicted, mentally ill, and indigent who live on the streets.

Unexpected beauty. A strong arm steadies the weak and embraces the lonely. A friend stays by your side in a crowd of strangers. A handshake is denied – because a hug is offered instead! Speaking words of support and comfort in the face of deception or disloyalty. Practicing humility and vulnerability so others can experience God’s power and Presence working through them to bless and encourage. Words of friendship and appreciation in an email. A shared treat brought home from the party. Passing along a compliment. Each of these actions is a blessing and an unforgettably gracious gift to the receiver.

Unexpected beauty. We don’t see it often enough, which is why it’s unexpected! But it has its rewards, both now and in eternity. A compliment or encouraging hug has an immediate payback when you see eyes light up or a bent back straighten. And when your target is recharged with that electricity, he or she now has the wherewithal to repeat the action to others in unending ripples.

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24 NIV. A spur is a projection that goads or impels to action, speed, or achievement. Imagine “sticking out your neck” to be the change in someone’s life today. Imagine inspiring one person to complete a task with distinction because he or she has been encouraged to add that extra jolt of adrenaline or the finishing touch.

To overcome the negativity of criticism and judgment, psychologists estimate that it takes as many as 15 compliments or “atta-boy/atta-girl” encouragements to overcome the hurt and frustration. How efficient or “green” would it be to never state the criticism in the first place, but instead to uplift, empower, and “spur one another on toward love and good deeds”?

Yes, we know that God is love, and that He gave every molecule of heaven’s resources to reconcile with us and bring us home. But we forget so easily and must be reminded so often because we don’t truly believe it ourselves. We don’t own it. The fact is, we cannot be told or shown often enough that we are loved! We don’t hear often enough: “I love you.” (Full stop. No “buts.”)

“God's Son, eyes pouring fire-blaze, standing on feet of furnace-fired bronze, says this: ’I see everything you're doing for me. Impressive! The love and the faith, the service and persistence. Yes, very impressive! You get better at it every day.’” Revelation 2:18-19 MSG.

I need that. You need that. And because Christ lives in us, we can BE that to the people around us. We can BE the unexpected beauty in someone’s day of frustration or overwork. It’s no more labor on our part!

“A mean person gets paid back in meanness, a gracious person in grace.” Proverbs 14:14 MSG. And think of this proverb in terms of relationship, not material goods: “It's criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor—what a blessing!” Proverbs 14:21 MSG.

No matter your appearance or reputation, your community or church standing: you can BE the unexpected beauty in someone’s day. Let this be your challenge: go and shock someone by a compliment or encouraging word. Don’t qualify or explain it. Just do a hit and run! That one act will lift both of you and will resonate in many unseen lives. Who doesn’t want to be as beautiful and contrasty as a magenta cactus flower that matures into sweet, nourishing fruit? This world needs a lot less prickles and a lot more blooms!

Streams in the desert

Friends asked on a private forum, “What is heaven-on-earth to you?”

Here are some of the answers:

When my son laughs with complete and utter abandon—for any reason.
The herbs and vegetables we've grown from seeds on our front porch.
Being with people who love and care about me.
Sweet pineapple and cottage cheese in the same bowl.
Heaven is being in the arms of someone who loves me for me.
Seeing the pure glee of children as you enter a house and they drop everything, scream your name, and run toward you with open arms and hug your leg so hard (before you can get your shoes off and drop your bags) that you almost fall over!
Heaven is warm: a nice warm cup of cocoa, a cuddly blanket by a warm fire, a warm and cozy bed, a warm embrace.
Heaven is a cat laying on your chest purring loudly, and a dog licking your toes withhis warm tongue.
It’s the scent of citrus blossoms on a meandering breeze.
Heaven is immersion in a pipe organ concert in a European cathedral.
Licking a spoon of hot peach jam made from home-grown peaches.
A Heath-covered Klondike ice cream bar.
The middle of a great book.
The moment you realize you're being used by God to help another.
The Milky Way seen from the floor of the Grand Canyon.
Heaven on earth is the scent of spring rain on creosote in the Arizona desert, with its multicolor lightning, chiaroscuro clouds that dwarf the highest mountains, the sweet herbal scents, the germination of poppies and daisies so fast you can almost see it, and watching dry gullies fill with flash floods that recede to pools where frogs and fish miraculously appear from the reconstituted earth.

The Lord loves a desert storm, too! Isaiah 35:1-7 NLT tells of God’s ideal party for those He loves and redeems. Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display his glory, the splendor of our God. With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.

Streams in the desert. For those who live in a land of plenteous water, this may not resonate within. But to people born and raised in a desert, water does beautiful and miraculous things. It springs from a rock. It washes away impurity. It falls from the sky and makes the air and earth sparkle. It is a display of the glory and splendor of God. To the Israelites of the exodus and their Egyptian oppressors, to the Jews exiled to Assyria and Mesopotamia, to anyone who experiences a drought, God has often used the medium of water, indispensable to human life, as a metaphor for Himself. He is the living water and the river of life.

In Isaiah 43:19-21 NIV, the Lord says, See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

If you’ve recently experienced violent storms and are facing deep and wide rivers in your life, remember that God provides a way through them (Isaiah 43:2), because He loves you. You are precious and honored in His sight! Rivers are not barriers when He leads the way, but channels of blessing and life-giving nutrients.

Jesus said that the water He gives will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” Isaiah 35:3,4 NLT.

God loves us and is coming to save us. That is heaven on earth. That is good news. That is the gospel.