HE LEADS ME THROUGH THE DESERT

August 29, 2017

HE LEADS ME THROUGH THE DESERT

Psalm 143

Brad Gaultney

Central Truth

Even in the deserts of life, Christ offers us His "steadfast love" (verses 8, 12), and we can offer that steadfast love to others.

I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
(Psalm 143:5-6)

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
    give ear to my pleas for mercy!
    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
    for no one living is righteous before you.

3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
    he has crushed my life to the ground;
    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
    my heart within me is appalled.

5 I remember the days of old;
    I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD!
    My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
    for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
    I have fled to you for refuge.^{1

143:9
One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered}
10 Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
    on level ground!

11 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
    for I am your servant.

Footnotes

[1] 143:9 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered

Recently, I went through a period of spiritual dryness. Oftentimes, unconfessed sin is the cause of feeling distant from a near God, but in this case it was something that, looking back, feels petty.

I am a runner, and I love to exercise. While training for one of the longest trail races I've ever attempted, I sprained my ankle. No matter what I tried—therapy, deep tissue massage, chiropractor, the dreaded "boot"—it just kept getting worse. This went on for six months. SIX MONTHS! And the longer it lasted, the more discouraged I got. The weight gain started. My times with the Lord were mundane. Temptations in other areas increased. Because God's "good Spirit" wasn't leading me (verse 10), I had little to offer to others I was leading. Was God revealing an idol in my fitness?

In my dryness, when I couldn't seem to muster desire for God's Word, God met me in the Psalms. I found just enough shade in my "parched land" (verse 6) to be faithful for that day (verse 8). I asked that God would "let [His] good Spirit lead me on level ground" (verse 10). I remembered how God often refines His children in the desert: "And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not" (Deuteronomy 8:2).

During that period, I shared my dryness with the men in my community group, stepped back from leadership roles, and went through Equipped Disciple 3, Watermark's discipleship training ministry, before I began to see God's beauty again. When I was reminded of God’s goodness and love for me, I again was satisfied by His living water, not my pet idol. Today, I am grateful God loves me enough to lead me through the desert.

All relationships have rough patches. When God seems distant, remember the advice of the psalmist in verse 5 and "meditate on all [He has] done."

1. If you're reading this, you likely are spending time with the Lord regularly. Can you think of someone you can forward this to who is going through a season of spiritual dryness?

2. Some of you reading this may feel far from the Lord. Who have you reached out to about your spiritual dryness, and what action are you taking?

3. Does Satan, our enemy, care how he sidelines us? Whether a sprained ankle or a massive scandal, if he can draw us from Christ—mission accomplished. What may be holding you back, big or small, from full devotion to Christ?