#575. Refusing the gift of the desert road.
Jul 8th by JonWhen I’m nervous and meet new people, I tend to read them my resume.
Not literally, I don’t carry it around with me, but I usually find a way to rattle off interesting tidbits about myself.
I did this recently at the Orange Conference. When I went to the blogger lounge I felt kind of insecure and didn’t know what to do. Everyone had their laptop and business cards all over the tables and I had neither. I immediately thought, “Oh yeah, bloggers are supposed to carry laptops not Moleskine notebooks. I’m so dumb.” After a few minutes of standing there like someone that’s eating alone and has forgotten to bring the “don’t feel pity for me I’m reading a book” book, I walked to the Land of a Thousand Hills coffee stand.
I asked if my friend was working at the stand that day and the guys behind the counter said no and then kind of said in a kind way, “And you are?”
I immediately started blabbering about how I had a blog and I once told thousands of people about their coffee and it’s read in all these countries and I’m a special person and look at all my accomplishments, me, me, me, resume, resume, resume. Even as the words were coming out of my mouth I wanted to grab them back, but I couldn’t.
And I find myself doing this more lately as I struggle with the impatience of wanting to be an author and a speaker. The Stuff Christians Like book will come out in March 2010 and I’m speaking at a bunch of conferences this fall so I completely get the foolishness of this thought but it’s still there. It’s a completely dumb thought to have but usually in life it’s not the wise thoughts we have that do the most damage. It’s the dumb ones.
When I pray, when me and God wrestle, there’s a part of me that keeps saying, “How come I only get to spend such a fraction of my day on Stuff Christians Like? How come I feel like I’m bursting with ideas and I’m only getting to write about them an hour a day? How come I’m not a super fantastical mister important Christian writer person right this second God?”
In the midst of those questions, in the midst of being wildly impatient and selfish and arrogant and a million other words that mean “whack,” I feel like God reminded me of a simple question,
“Why do you keep refusing the gift of the desert road?”
That’s kind of a weird question, but it comes out of some verses I’ve written about before. In Exodus 13: 17-18, as the Israelites are leaving Egypt, the Bible says:
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.
I love the simplicity of that. God knew that if the Israelites took the short way, if they took what probably seemed like the logical route, they’d face a war they weren’t ready for and would probably willingly return to slavery. So out of love, out a deep, big love for His people, he took them on the desert road.
As an Israelite, having spent decades doing hardcore physical labor and leading the kind of manual labor lifestyle that puts the P90X exercise program to shame, you’d have to be thinking, “What? I’m armed for battle! The desert road? Seriously? Look at this sword, I’ve got skillz! Let’s take the short way and give the Philistines two tickets to the gun show. Hey, I just compared my biceps to a weapon that is still centuries away from being invented, that’s odd.”
OK, maybe they wouldn’t have thought that last sentence, but I promise that they probably felt a little confused at why they were on the desert road and maybe at some point in your own life, you’ve felt that way too. Maybe you’ve felt ready for something and for some reason instead found yourself taking the long way around.
I don’t know what your “thing” is.
Maybe you want to fall in love and get married.
Maybe you’re at a job that doesn’t use your God-given talents and you feel desperate to get out.
Maybe you want to start a ministry.
Maybe you don’t know what your thing is, but you know it’s not what you’re doing right now.
Maybe you want to have kids.
Maybe you want to head out to the mission field overseas.
Your thing, your dream or goal or vision could be a million different things, and when it doesn’t happen, when it takes longer than we want, it’s so easy to get frustrated. To get disappointed, to think that the time delay is because maybe you’re not doing something right. Maybe God is mad at you. Maybe if you were a better Christian things would be happening faster and you wouldn’t be on a desert road.
But what if that’s not right?
What if God loves you too much to send you to war? What if He loves you too much to throw you into situations you’re not ready for?
What if that desert road is a gift?
I still struggle with the desert road concept. I’m not “done” with that idea. But my hope for you and my hope for me is that the next time I find myself on one I’ll pause long enough to ask God this simple question:
“I’m on a desert road, what war are you protecting me from right now because you love me so much?”
Comments
this was timely indeed … isn't it fun to be the one the lord kicks in the butt and uses to kick others in the butt? haha but seriously. thanks for sharing this … i can't wait to read the book and its awesome to get to hear a bit of the backstory about how the lord is putting it together.
My sunburn, the sand in my shorts, and I, all say: Thank You.
I so much needed to hear this…
Thank you
So good!
So true!
So timely!
Thanks, brother.
wv: roctom
def: very powerful blog post
"John's had some good posts in the past, but this one roctom."
I wish I had more words. Thank you
What an excellent, thought-provoking post! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for letting God use you as a spiritual 2×4 (covered in velvet) to gently knock some sense in me.
That was beautiful, really. Thanks.
God used your moment of not being or feeling like Super Fantastical Mister Important Christian Writer Person to give you a Super Fantastical Only-God-Could-Inspire-It insightful statement.
I was talking to my youth pastor about contentment before I go overseas on the mission field. We ended our conversation and yet I was still not feeling peace. I logged into my facebook and a friend had posted this link on my wall. It was EXACTLY what I needed. Thank you SO much!
-Brittany
OK, yeah. Um, you so just described me. Good to be reminded. Thanks.
Thank you for taking the time to craft that thought into a post that would speak to all of our hearts. Depending on how you look at it, I'm both 'living the dream' and on the desert road, and your taking the time to deal with it in a way that does the subject justice and is not a quick answer for a complex experience is greatly appreciated.
Wow! That really spoke to me. Psalm 84:6-7 "Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee: in whose heart are the ways of them who, passing through the valley of Baca, make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to stength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God."
I'm gonna be on the desert road for a while, might as well install a coke machine to make it more comfortable for everyone who's coming by with me. we'll make it to Zion just in time.
Although I moved from the literal desert a few months ago, I feel like I'm still stuck in the desert…nothing is happening fast enough (at least for me). Thank you for this post and for reminding me that the desert is a gift.
Kim
I SO needed to read this post. Thank you so much for so humorously smacking me in the face.
Amy
I just discovered your blog and I love it. Congrats on your upcoming book, by the way!
I'm totally with you. I actually had this very thought tonight, before I even logged on to my computer: One of these days when my kids are grown, I'm going to wonder why I tried so hard to cram my writing into their childhood."
And then I read your post.
Hmmmmm…
I love when God speaks.
Blessings,
Sandy
Alicia Chole's "anonymous: jesus' hidden years and yours" speaks about our desert/anonymous seasons. It changed my life in a profound way as it pertains to my thinking about my life and dreams yet to be realized.
I've found a measure of contentment in my desert.
peace~elaine
wow wow WOW.
i have been struggling with this all week, especially today.
I could not have picked a better moment to sit down and read this blog.
My favorite lesson in the Bible is how God allowed Moses to have 40 years in the desert before calling him to lead His people.
Through that very desert.
It may be years before we know why God has us on the desert road. But when it is revealed, it will make perfect sense.
My husband & I were just talking about this topic last night. Thanks for giving me something else to ponder while making sense of our situation. Very timely for me as well.
I love that last question. It reminded me of this quote from John Ortberg's book Love Beyond Reason: "In the desert all we have to cling to is the promise."
The desert times are worth it every time I realize with new clarity that "all" I have are the promises made by the never-lying, never-forgetting, never-leaving-or-forsaking Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe.
dude, you're brilliant.
Great blog, Jon. I think the allure of Christian stardom is more tempting than many of us care to admit. Thanks for being transparent.
I know this is comment 123, but just had to say thanks for ministering to all of us on the desert road. God is using you right now, even in the desert.
so good!!!
thank you…
Moleskine notebooks rock.
I feet a connection to the children of Israel in the wilderness. Life has been pretty dry & sandy. Not exactly where I want to be, but God provides what I need to get through each day, my daily manna. Now I would prefer to have a storehouse full of provisions like in Joseph's day, but for now I get manna.
Thank you so much. I'm a new reader of SCL and this post was for me today.
good post. helpful post. i bet many of us find ourselves there now. btw, a good way not to blab on too much (the orange convention), when you talk to new people, try and say something simply, and within 2 sentences. if they want to hear more, they ask.
I really needed that today. Thanks for a spiritual "slap upside the head" to snap me out of my poor me funk.
I've been struggling with this in various areas for years. Thank you. This is exactly what I needed.
That was exactly what I needed to hear!
I needed to hear this today. Thank you.
Boy, this post struck me straight to the heart.
"Maybe if you were a better Christian things would be happening faster and you wouldn't be on a desert road."
Yes, this is TKO that always keeps me down, when I'm walking in circles over a dream unfulfilled.
Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, have mercy.
This is beautiful & true & convicting– thank you. I wrote about a similar concept awhile back- living in exile.
(http://hopenoelle.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-learning-curve.html)
The desert road and the time of exile are never what we would choose for ourselves; but when you look back after coming out that place, do you ever regret it? Don't we learn and grow so much in those places?
that seems to have hit the nail right on the head. I ran into a cicrumstance a few months ago where God stopped me from doing somthing I desperately wantd to do, and in the aftermath, as I was crying and yelling at God, I got the sense that he was protecting me from something. He placed me on the desert road, and I need to see the gift in that.
Thank you for this.
[...] 2. Jonathan Acuff @Stuff Christians Like: Refusing the Gift of The Dessert Road [...]
Umm….I know this is an older post, but I somehow am just reading it. And I am sure that the "somehow" is because God knew I would need to read it at this very moment, not when it was originally written.
You could have written a page from my own heart. My thing is writing and I have been wrestling with God about the desert road for months.
I am still not sure why I am on the desert road, but I am beginning to truly believe that God is protecting me from war. Maybe the war is pride, maybe its finding my identity in what I do instead of who I belong to, maybe it is seeking significance or fulfillment in the wrong things.
This post has given me some things to think/pray about. Thanks for your transparency. I'm bookmarking it (and I don't do that) so I can come back to it often.
Right on the Money. I also think sometimes as Christians we are so results based we don't care about the Journey- we just want to get to where we think we should be spiritually, relationally, occupationally, etc.
I truly think that God truly values the journey every bit as much if not more than the result- we should too.
wow what a great post, I wish I would have read it yesterday because your wisedom is something that I needed because I have been struggling with a lot of things lately and wondered what is God trying to show me, now I know that I just need to let God take control and not worry so much.
apparently i'm one of many who needed this. my husband and i are trying to have a baby and so many of these thoughts have gone through my mind in the last year over it. the hard part for me is accepting the desert road and not just shutting off emotionally and being mad at God.
just what i need rite now!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by prodigaljohn, JustTuesday, Josh DeVine, pjtowle, melanie clark and others. melanie clark said: The gift we all get but none of us want. http://tinyurl.com/yzxynor (via @prodigaljohn) [...]
great thing about you, you're making a worldwide impact for Christ, with a fraction of your time on your desert road! shine on… Great encouragement sir.
Thank you. Such a great reminder. God loves us so much. We can't comprehend what things he may spare us from.
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