Loving in the Deserts of Life

Have you all heard the song Days of Elijah?  I absolutely LOVE this song.  I could listen to it on repeat for days, and actually have been since I returned from my trip (seriously, ask Jenni- I’ve been alternating listening to this one and “Revival,” another amazing one, at all hours of the day/night).  

Just before the chorus of the song, we sing:

And though these are days of great trial,
Of famine and darkness and sword,
Still, WE are the voice in the desert crying
'Prepare ye the way of the Lord!'

The “voice in the desert” part gets me.  I’ve sung this song plenty of times in church and at PFA, and though I loved it every time, it didn’t mean too much to me until I actually reflected on that specific verse.  We are the voice in the desert- we, as Christians, are called to be a "voice in the desert" for our Lord.

Now I know you’ve all seen deserts before and they are, shall we say, interesting places.  I myself have not made a habit of hanging out in them.  For one thing, I come from a place with one of the highest amounts of precipitation in the U.S., so we have more problems with too much water rather than too little.  Furthermore, deserts simply aren’t my style.  They’re hot and sandy and rocky and there’s no waves to frolick in if you get too toasty.  No thanks.

Although my current home (DC) would hardly be classified as a desert, I've come to realize that no matter where I am in the world, I am still in the desert.  Our entire world is a desert, vast and dry, eager for drops of the living water promised in Jesus Christ.  Although He has already come to save us, we, as His followers, continue to seek Him and devote our lives to Him.  In turn, we are to continue spreading the good news throughout the world, even in the desert.

Each of us may have a different desert in which we are called to prepare the way of the Lord.  Your desert could be your workplace, your eating club, your dorm room, your apartment, your classes, your team.  What desert has the Lord called you to, and how are you declaring the way of the Lord?

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

Matthew 4:19