When You're In The Desert: Where Does Our Hope Come From?

In the Desert

If you’ve ever stepped foot in a desert, you know it's unforgiving nature. For those who haven't, let’s take a trip there together in words:

• The sun shows no mercy.

• All shade runs and hides.

• The horizon unmoving.

• Unshakable thirst wells deep within.

• The sand like hot coals.

• The silence pressing you to break.

• The wind unkind.

• The night cold as bone.

The Desert of Suffering

While I borrow from imagery of a physical desert, that isn’t the desert I speak of. This desert is far more vast. Not merely of sand and sun, but of sorrow and struggle. The desert of suffering.

The truth is, you’ve likely journeyed to this kind of desert before. I imagine it wasn't a travel destination you dreamed of returning to.

"Not merely of sand and sun, but of sorrow and struggle."

15 Months In the Desert

I don’t know where you find yourself today, but I’ll be honest, I’ve been wandering this desert for almost 15 months. It hasn’t been constant torment, but it has been unrelenting. It's differed from day to day, hour to hour, sometimes even minute to minute.

• Some days felt like standing under the scorching sun of disappointment, others like shivering through the cold nights of loneliness and unanswered prayers.

• Some days feel normal, dare I say even good. But then the heat returns, pressing down, or the cold creeps back in, leaving me feeling stuck. That's the thing, deserts don’t let you forget where you are.

"That's the thing, deserts don’t let you forget where you are."

So what protects me here? Not shade I bring, not water I carry, not clothes or shoes or protection I wear. Then what?

Where is My Hope?

Where is my hope in this desert? Where is our hope when we find ourselves facing unspeakable grief, financial ruin, relentless physical pain, a mental health crisis, loneliness, broken relationships…the list goes on.

When the desert shows no mercy. When you feel held captive. When it seems there is no way out. When you don’t even have the strength to face tomorrow. Where do we find hope?

Because I’ve been there. If I'm honest, I’m still here, writing these words to you today from the desert. And yet, even here, I’ve found that hope is not absent. It does not come from my own strength. If hope depended on me, I would have crumbled long ago, and then again even last night. But His power is made perfect in my weakness.

"Even here in the desert, hope is not absent."

Streams In the Desert

My hope is found in the God who has never left His people wandering alone. The God who fed Israel manna, who met Hagar at the spring, who strengthened Elijah under the broom tree, who walked with me yesterday, who is walking with me today, and who will walk with me again tomorrow.

I hope you find that even in the desert, His presence is the shade we cannot make for ourselves, His Word is the water that does not run dry (Isaiah 43), and His love is the reason we can keep going, even when the desert remains, so does our Hope remain.

"My hope is in God, who walked with me yesterday, who is walking with me today, and who will walk with me again tomorrow."

“His presence is the shade we cannot make for ourselves. His Word is the water that does not run dry.”

Fighting In the Desert

We fight in the desert not by our own strength, but by lifting songs of praise (Job 35:10), rehearsing God’s Word, and leaning on the Holy Spirit and each other. If you’re in a dark, barren season, hear me: you are not alone. There is hope. Keep fighting. I’m right here with you, joyfully and painfully fighting too.

Here are three simple ways I’m challenging myself (and you) today. Try one, or all three:

1. Reach out to a trusted friend. Let them know you’re struggling. You might be surprised by where this leads.

2. Meditate on Scripture. Start with 2 Corinthians 4: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck, but not destroyed.”

3. Sing in the desert. Whether on the way to the store or waiting in the pick-up line, put on Desert Song (or your favorite worship song) and let it become your prayer.

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