Navigating the Desert
Desert or wilderness experiences come suddenly and take us into unknown dangerous spaces. We lose all sense of direction. We feel insecure, lost and abandoned. Our ego, which so often controls our behavior, loses its grip on us. We feel frightened as the future is uncertain. Our mind goes into overdrive, filled with imaginings and a multitude of options to get out of the desert.
It is in this state that St Mark’s Gospel tells us that Satan will come and tempt us, we will be with wild beasts, but that we can be assured of the help of angels. Satan’s temptations are crafty deceptions, offering us a way out of the desert through subtle, nuanced acts of betrayals of our values. He offers us ways out of the desert while avoiding the hard work.
I remember the VP of Human Resources of a large corporation once telling me that when employees face financial difficulties, there is a huge risk they will find ingenious ways of stealing, knowing within that these acts are wrong. Persons with illnesses may be tempted to seek out charlatans promising healing. Owners of small business, faced with declining revenue, may avoid making the hard decisions and rack up large debts or engage in illegal activities to bolster the bottom line.
The desert not only brings us face to face with Satan and his lies, we are also with wild beasts. I believe wild beasts are the angry, unscrupulous people we meet in the desert. They come to us threateningly sensing we are weak and down. Their goal is to take advantage of us in our weakness. They charge outrageous fees for medicine that are ineffective, promising healing. They try to purchase our equipment at extremely discounted prices. They hike up interest on debts and make premature claims on collateral. Partners may abandon us for greener pastures.
St Mark advises us to rely on prayer and angels to minister to us. Prayer gives us access to faith and courage from God, helping us trust in Jesus to guide us through the desert. With God’s help we reject the subtle traps of Satan and stand up to the unscrupulous people that inhabit deserts. Navigating the desert requires us to do the hard work and not seek out short cuts. We take the narrow paths of making hard decisions, we face up to hurt egos, we confront unscrupulous creditors, we take the orthodox methods of healing trusting that the ultimate healer is God.
We accept the ministering from the angels that God sends to us to help while in the desert. The genuine and authentic friends, pastors, therapists, counsellors, coaches that walk with us along the long difficult and narrow paths that lead out of the desert.
Navigating the desert experiences of life build our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We build capacity for resilience. We gain control of our ego. We build the virtue of humility. We discern the authentic and genuine persons in our life. We learn how to pray. We learn to walk the difficult paths. The spirit drives us into the desert for good reason, let us rise to those times in our lives.
This week, we explore desert experiences and the challenges we face in them and the vital skills we learn for our journey ahead. We hope you walk with us. Also, if you think these posts can be helpful to a family member or friend, please share their email address, so they can get the posts in their mailbox.