40 Days in the Desert: A Lenten Journey

Read: Psalm 63:1-8 Psalms 63 | NIV Bible | YouVersion Are you thirsty for God?   I mean really thirsty?   Tongue sticking to the roof of your mouth thirsty?   Far too often we get comfortable.   We have a shelf full of Bibles.   Podcasts and Bible studies at our fingertips.   Praise and worship music at the touch of a button.   The next Christian conference is just around the corner.   We have access to so much that we begin to take it for granted. But while all those things are good, they are not God Himself.   When was the last time you just sat in His presence?   When was the last time you soaked in His love?   When was the last time you gazed at His beauty and beheld His glory? David cried out, “Oh God, my soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water…. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.” Remember that while Christian books and wo...

Read: Psalm 32:7   Psalms 32 | NIV Bible | YouVersion The desert is full of contrasts.   It’s blazing hot during the day, but the temperatures drop to freezing cold when the sun sets.   It’s a barren place, yet it’s full of resources: minerals and metals.   It’s harsh and empty and barren, but at the same time full of hidden life and beauty, if we will take the time to look for it. For example, tiny birds carve out holes in the giant cacti and build for themselves a nest, right in the midst of all the thorns and prickles!   What warns other creatures to stay away becomes a haven of safety and rest for these little birds. God promises to be our hiding place, our shelter in the midst of the harshness of the elements.   I love how the Psalmist puts it: “you surround me with songs of deliverance.”   What a beautiful picture of God’s grace in the middle of our desert journey.   He becomes our hiding place, and there in the middle of the desolat...

Read: Psalm 29   Psalms 29 | NIV Bible | YouVersion Today’s Scripture reading reminds us of the awesome power of the Lord our God, reflected in His control over nature.   At the opening of His mouth, His voice echoes like thunder.   It can split the tallest, strongest tree.   It can shake the mountains.   It can send lightning flashing across the sky.   It can make the desert quake. Think of it!   At His word, all of creation came into being.   And at His word, it can all be destroyed.   And remember that this is the same power that raised Christ from the dead.   Romans 8:11 says, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” We serve a mighty God, and He is able to do infinitely more than we can ask or even imagine for us because He loves us.   What a promise!   What a hop...

Read: Job 38   Job 38 | NIV Bible | YouVersion Today’s passage comes when, after listening to Job question God why he had to suffer so many things when as far as he knew, he had done nothing wrong, and had been righteous in honoring God in all his ways, God answers. He shows His infinite superiority, knowledge, and wisdom by pointing out how little Job, and really, all of us, know about the world God created and how it works. In verse 26, God asks, “Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives?”   The answer, of course, is only God can do this!   Read through this passage, and worship our awesome and amazing Creator God who sets our universe in order.   He and He alone is worthy of all our praise and worship.   Allow this passage of Scripture, reminding us of how small and limited our understanding of His Creation and His ways is, to bring you to a place of worship for our great God!   Listen:  Chris Tomlin - I Sta...

Read: Job 1 Job 1 | NIV Bible | YouVersion Talk about your bad days!   In a matter of moments, Job lost everything he had—cattle, sheep, camels, servants, and even all his children.   Marauders came from the desert and attacked his flocks and herds.   A windstorm blew in from the desert and destroyed the house where his children were gathered.   I can’t even imagine the devastation he must have felt! I don’t know about you, but I have no idea how I would react under those circumstances.   I do know that I have whined and complained over far less.   Yet, Job fell to the ground and worshipped the Lord, acknowledging that God had given him all he had, and that God had the right to take it all away. Are you able to praise the Lord in spite of your troubles?   Can you acknowledge His sovereignty and His right to do what He pleases?   Do you trust that God is good, even when it feels like He is allowing bad things to happen?   What would it...

Read: 2 Chronicles 20   2 Chronicles 20 | NIV Bible | YouVersion Israel was in trouble!   The armies of surrounding nations banded together and declared war on them.   Already, they were marching through the desert, quickly approaching Jerusalem. The people panicked.   Even the king Jehoshaphat was terrified.   But the king did something right.   He went to the Lord, begging for guidance.   And the Lord answered.   He told Jehoshaphat, “Don’t be afraid or discouraged.   Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you.” And the next day, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising Him, singing, “Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!” Can you imagine?   No military general in his right mind would send the choir into battle before sending in the infantry!   This was an unheard of strategy!   But God honored the faith of the Israelites.   As soon...

Read: 1 Kings 19   1 Kings 19 | NIV Bible | YouVersion Elijah had come to the end of his strength.  After an epic spiritual victory on Mount Carmel, during which he called down fire from heaven and put the priests and prophets of the false god Baal to shame, Queen Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah.  And so he fled into the desert. Discouragement often sets in after a spiritual mountaintop experience like Elijah had, and it would be good for us to remember that.  But God is a very practical God.  He focused on meeting Elijah where he was, offering him both nourishment and rest.  God wasn’t done with Elijah yet.  He had more for him to do. Elijah hid in a cave and allowed himself to wallow in self-pity.  He allowed his situation to overwhelm him.  He forgot that God had just rained fire down from heaven.  He forgot that God had soundly defeated the false god Baal.  He forgot that there were others who worshipped and served the One ...