#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
Thank you. Wow, I'm so there. I needed to hear this today.
I relate very much to the idea of the desert road. Admittedly i'm skeptical lately about God's will for it, but these are good concepts to think on further. Thanks.
Thanks for writing this! It really speaks to me today, and I'm going to send it to my husband.
stop reading my diary, jon!
(great post)
I've been struggling with those first four Maybes. Never actually stopped to think that it might be God protecting me from something. Thanks for writing this.
Thank you for this post.
Wow. I think you are exceeding blessed to be able to carve out an hour of your day to write. What you think of as your desert is the lamp I'm using to find my way out my own desert. My blog has been trapped in my paper journal for over a year.
I'm suddenly feelin' a little thirsty and think I will be walking out of the desert today. =)
For months I've been feeling unsatisfied with my life even though its at a great place right now. I'm married to a wonderful man, we just bought a house, my sister is finally saved, my youth group is growing like I never thought possible. I don't know why these blessings haven't seemed like enough, but I just don't feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be. I want more peaceful moments and less stress, more time and less busyness, more homemaking skills, more friends and time for friends… and I can't see a time in which I'll be able to have that. I feel like I think I'm on a desert road, staring down at the sand under my feet and if I were to look up I'd realize the desert isn't as bad as I think. I may not have exactly what I want, but I have plenty of other blessings.
Jon, thank you so much for making me reflect on this.
I've been struggling with that gift lately too! This fresh perspective is just what i needed–thank you so much. I tend to want a time table for certain things rather than just rely on the fact that God has perfect timing. Proverbs 20:24 & Genesis 6:22 are taped to my monitor to remind me of this.
So thank you for being so honest & posting this. I NEEDED to read that today Jon. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
wow, what a perfectly timed post for me today! I really needed to hear this and be reminded of God's perfect plan. Thank you.
much needed and much appreciated…
Thanks, Jon. That is some much needed encouragement and helps me to realize how much I think about what I want versus what God wants for me.
I know I won't be staring at these cubicle walls forever but I wish I knew where I was going next!
Thanks for this. needed to read this today.
Very well said! Great wisdom for all of us…
Wow. What an eloquent yet simple way to portray the real emotion behind being on the desert road. I hate that our first impulse is to get off, find the highway, and be done with the growing part. Thanks for your words.
I love serious Wednesdays.
Jon, I really needed to hear this, because I am so on the desert road. Thank you and may God bless you. I can't wait for your book to come out.
You have this amazing gift of saying what I need to hear right when I need to hear it.
Thank you.
Word! My short desert road story, not to be confused with a dessert road…what would be too appealing and tasty.
OK, i went to school and got a degree in youth ministry, volunteered throughout college and was ready to step into the YM world and change lives…only thing was, is that i didn't get a YM job right out of college and ended up walking that desert road at a tractor salvage for almost two years before i finally landed a YM job…which has turned into blessing after blessing after blessing…what we need to ask ourselves is not, "Why does it take so long to step into what God wants us to do?" but rather, "What if God wants me in this exact place in this exact moment?"
-my $.02
WV: Manter – also known as small talk between two or more men…topics usually include: the weather, the roads, any regional professional sports teams, politics, and of recent popularity the economy.
1) moleskine = COOL. true writers use these line of writing products, like hemingway and blah blah blah [per informational insert that comes with every moleskine product].
2) how do i know God's putting me on the desert road because of reasons you've explained OR if it's because i just can't/won't learn something so He has to take me "'round the mountain" once again?
I tend to forget that the desert road is often the preparatory road so that when I do reach my goal/dream, I am in the right place spiritually and mentally to serve G-d there.
Great post, Jon.
dude thanks. i needed to hear that today. no really. i thought i was the only one who though "being a better christian would make things happen faster". glad to know i'm not alone.
Awesome.
I've been reading your blog for a while, and recently I was at a writer's conference and Chip MacGregor mentioned you…I'd say your making some waves in the industry.
Keep at it!
Sue
I'm wondering if God had you write this just for me. Okay, probably not. But this post spoke directly to my heart and was everything I needed to hear. Thank you!
A friend of mine in the blogger world emailed me this post. You have NO idea how much I needed to read it! Long story short: I was supposed to be leaving in 2 weeks for my FIRST mission trip ever, I've been so excited, and for me, it fell through. I've been beating myself up about getting the call wrong, feel pretty stupid, etc etc, however in my heart, I know God is right.
So this blog just made my whole day! Thanks!
With so many people on the desert road why is it that we feel alone in our struggles? At a minimum we should enjoy some company while we are out trapsing about in the sand!
wv
blesenti – the newest fragrance by estee lauder for christian men and women.
Slogan- So you can smell blessed even if your not.
I needed to read this today; thank you so much…
Exactly the encouragment I needed. Thank you.
I was going to leave a long-winded comment about how this specifically spoke to me and was the first post in the year or so I've been reading this blog to bring me to tears with deep realization of the truth. Instead, I will simply say: Thank you, Jon. I have a renewed hope in what God is doing in my life even if I still do not understand it.
This was what I needed to read today.
Awesome post. Thanks.
Thanks. It's good to know I'm not the only one who feels like I'm wandering the desert, wondering where the heck this path will lead, and, like Meaghan, why I have all of these desires and skills and no way to utilize them right now. Thanks for some perspective.
Amazing. I can't tell you how much your posts (especially serious Wednesdays) encourage me. Thanks so much.
Awesome stuff.
It's easy to seek out the stuff that says, "Life is too short for stuff to be in a bad job, relationship, etc."
It takes another level of faith altogether to live in the gift of the desert road.
If you're getting this stuff out there with only an hour a day, then maybe God isn't letting you speed up because our heads would explode!
This post is yet another example of why I love Wednesdays. Keep up the great work!
And the crazy thing is, no matter how many desert roads you've been down, got to the end, looked back over your shoulder, saw the enemy that you were able to avoid, noticed the growth in your life and celebrated it and God's love for you… the next time, you'll not see it as the gift it is at the start, either. Been there, done that, t-shirt in production. Thanks, and a big side hug for reminding me where I am and where God's love is right now.
You rock, SCL dude!
I believe (and hope) I am coming out of a desert road after a long, painful, dusty journey. There is nothing like a desert to help you recognize an oasis when you see it, and to help you be grateful for water.
One of the saddest parts of the desert: The number of Christians who don't want to have anything to do with you when you're in the desert. The people who won't say hi at church. The phone calls, party invitations, coffees and lunches that don't happen. The snide comments.
Maybe that's another thing you get out of the desert road: A little compassion for those also lost in the desert….
Thanks, Jon….
WV: sandicty: sanctity without a spellchecker
I love Serious Wednesdays! They always seem to hit me either where I am or a review of a lesson I have only recently learned… thanks for sharing!
LeeAnn
i dont' know if being on the desert road is always God's protection. perhaps He's protecting us, preparing us, or maybe it's just not the time according to His much bigger picture. All that being said, being in the desert/waiting is definitely one of the hardest lessons we have to learn to go through and to experience! Help us Lord!
I think this is my favorite post. I'm in bed with the laptop and I just woke Husband up to read it to him.
as always, your serious wednesdays are exactly what I needed to read, thanks!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Know that God is using you as an instrument of his powerful grace and unstoppable glory.
I love that verse, Jon! I didn't catch the part about the war they would have had to go through when I read it (thanks for that!), but I caught that God led them around the long way. They didn't get lost in the desert, not even during that 40 year "wandering". God was right there, leading His people, just as He does with us. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks Jon, that hit home.
Oh I am so stealing that idea for my next book!
In Christian love of course.
<-SB><
Thankyou
the one line that came to me after reading this was …" girl ..you need to grow up…like seriously" …
Thank you …
Thanks for this message Jon. I missed it yesterday, but really needed to hear it this morning. I had a rough night and had to really reflect on some decisions I have made. Thank You.
And a further thought…
Would it actually be all right with you if the desert road you are traveling on did not lead to the "Promised Land" in this lifetime?
Would that still be all right?
Great book recommendation: Kevin DeYoung's "Just Do Something:" about how our lives are not our own, God doesn't always [or even much of the time] reveal His will in our lives, his plans for our future, the reasons He does what He does, etc. etc. and that has to be all right with us, because we are fallen beings. He is almighty God..