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Desert Seasons

Desert Seasons

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.'” (Matthew 11:28)

No matter who we are, or how long we’ve pursued a relationship with God, everyone goes through a “desert experience.” These are hard times with God, which never cease to come around, and always seem to offer some great revelation or lesson in the end. These times have been embraced by many as the most poignant way God speaks to them in their life.

When we look at Scripture, we see God’s people go through desert experiences from the very beginning. Moses and the nation of Israel walked through a literal desert experience, and as we read through Genesis, we find that they were left in the desert largely in part to continued rebellion and disobedience. So, what does this say about our own spiritual journeys?

When we get to a place where we don’t feel God’s love, it is quite possible we’ve not been around God enough to let Him love on us. God doesn’t stop loving us when we stray from consistent, meaningful fellowship with Him, or when we don’t live up to our calling, as Paul wrote about in Ephesians 4. Instead, God waits patiently.

The idea of God being disappointed in us when we do stray is not what the ”new covenant” is about. The concept of God’s grace is centered on the fact that He would be displeased with us it it weren’t for Christ. But Christ set us free from that. God’s not hung up on rules; we see Abraham was righteous because of his faith long before God’s law was even given to mankind. We screwed up the purpose for the law and in turn made ourselves slaves to it. Jesus came to free us from that so we can get back to that relationship.

Dig Deeper:

Matthew 11:28-30

Psalm 62 

Today’s Prayer:

Lord, thank you for continuing to pursue my heart. Thank you for loving me even when I stray from you. I pray you would guide my ways to be in a closer relationship with you. Amen 

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