Finding your way to the desert

Did you know that as you read this, you are rotating with the Earth at a speed a little over 1,083 miles per hour, give or take-depending on the distance your couch is to the equator? If the Earth were to suddenly stop spinning, our atmosphere would continue to zip past you at rate of speed close to 1,000 miles an hour. As a result, everything not attached to solid ground would pretty much be windswept clean.  All of that would happen in the blink of an eye and we would be left wondering what just happened.

Do we realize that the atmosphere is moving past us at record speeds right now? Our mornings begin as we repeatedly tap the snooze, waiting until the very last minute before we force ourselves out of bed; scramble to get dressed, dress our kids and head off to work, dropping them at school along the way.  Oh, on the way to work, we’re texting our spouse, checking emails on our Blackberry, all while nursing our tall latte from Starbucks.  Of course, we’re doing all this as we listen to the radio, increasing the volume as the guitar lead intro pulls us into our favorite Loverboy song-the one we haven’t heard in thirty years.  Tapping out the rhythm on the steering wheel, we are whisked away to thoughts of our high school days as we weave in and out of heavy rush hour traffic.   The rest of the day, pretty much mirrors that scene as well.  Rushing home to throw down a quick meal so we can get kid number one to karate practice, kid number two to his guitar lessons and kid number three to the rehearsal for the school play.  I think you get the picture.  Yes, the atmosphere is zooming past us and we don’t even realize it.

With all this chaos and time consuming life-chatter-as I like to call it, going on, how do we ever expect to talk to anyone, let alone God?  I think the answer lies somewhere on the floor of that hot dusty desert.  Can you Imagine what conversations Jesus must have had with God during those forty days. Praying. Reflecting.  There were no people pulling at his gown asking to cure them, no large groups following his every move, continually asking questions and seeking his guidance and wisdom.  Noone shouting from the street to cure his blindness.  No, before his meeting with Satan, there was just Jesus and God.  I can just imagine the wisdom, support and empowerment that God gave to Jesus during the time that the Holy Spirit led Him into the desert.  I imagine Jesus walking through the desert, hot blistering sand pouring over his sandals as he takes each step.  Wondering as he walks. Talking to the Father as he struggles through the 140 degree heat of the day and fighting off the cold chill of the night.  As each day builds upon the next, talks with His Father become more and more frequent. His Father answering in subtle responses.

Over a short period of time, a beautiful dialog was built and God instilled within him, the tools Jesus needed to cast off Satan’s temptations and carry Him forward to fullfill his destiny for us.  I believe that what happened to Jesus in the desert is not far from what is happening to us today.  We have so much going on, we can’t hear what God is trying to tell us.  We fill our lives with a daily chaos that doesn’t give us time to think before we’re fast asleep and starting the whole process over again the next day.  Well, God wants us to meet him in the desert just like His Son. To spend some time with Him talking, sharing.  He wants to talk to us, just like he did with Jesus.  That’s right, just like with Jesus.  That should send chills up your spine.

What a treasure we could have, if we would just travel to the desert.  We don’t have to travel a great distance to get to His desert.  No nine hour flight, no fasting for forty days (although a little fasting never hurts) and no sandals required.  No, what God requires of us is our time.  Much like the desert Jesus encountered, our desert is filled with challenges and dangers too.  In this age of social media and instant everything, its a challenge to give some of that up.  It's a struggle to get your son off of the Wii to spend some time talking with God.  To turn of the radio on the hour long commute to work and engage in a conversation with Him. Or to rally the family together in your home in the evenings to have a dedicated prayer time.  We've become comfortable in our world and it's scarey to step out into His desert.  Uninterrupted, distraction-free time.  Maybe its as simple as trading in our Facebook for Hisbook a couple hours a week.  Well, that's a start perhaps

We can't hear what we can't hear.