THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021 MOUNTAINS, DESERTS, AND BLESSINGS

 THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021 MOUNTAINS, DESERTS, AND BLESSINGS

This morning I’m reminded of the book of Job from scripture.

Quick recap of Job chapter 1.  God has blessed Job - he has wealth, he has a great family, everything is great, and he loves God.  Satan says “Of course, he loves you, because you have blessed him.  Take away all the things, and he will curse you”.  God says “Not my servant Job, he wouldn’t do that, but I give you permission to attack him.”  And, Satan attacks him - all his children die, his livestock is stolen or killed, and Job is wiped out.  Two excerpts from Job chapter 1.

“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

… and later

“While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!””

*****

(So, Karen, where are you going with this?)

I was like Job in some respects.  God had blessed me.  I had an awesome job and profession, I had an amazing wife and family.  I had five fantastic grandchildren - twins and triplets - who adored me.  I had been blessed.  

I maybe had a couple of minor days in the ‘desert’, but Psalm 30:5 puts my life in perspective - Joy does come with the morning.

“For his anger is but for a moment,

    and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

    but joy comes with the morning.”

*****

On October 28, 2018, I was ‘sent’ to the desert.  My wife said I had to leave our house, so I got an apartment in a different town - no friends, nobody I knew, my family had abandoned me.  

I wasn’t ready for the desert.  Like Job, I had been blessed.  And, now, like Job, it has been taken away.   (Note - “desert” and “wilderness” seem to be synonyms - so I’ll stay with the term “desert”)

I needed to be humbled.  (Or, at least that is my story - and I’ll sticking to it!!! <grin>).  Compared to 2016, my friend base is almost all different.  (I still have many old friends on Facebook but rarely see them).  

I needed to learn.  I had been ‘cocky’, egotistical - after all, I had been blessed by God.  Without the details, I have been humbled, I have learned to seek God’s Face, I have been knocked off my “high horse”, shipwrecked, and I have changed.  But, It isn’t done.  All of us are “works in progress”!!

If anything I’ve learned to like my desert.  And, it isn’t all that bad.  Joy does come with the morning.  I’ve learned to trust God - the source, he/she/it - the infinite who is so far above me.  Almost like John the Baptist “I am unworthy to loosen his sandals”!!!

Deserts do happen.  Moses spent time in the desert/wilderness before God spoke to him from the burning bush.  Jesus spent time in the desert/wilderness.  Elijah spent time in the desert/wilderness.  (Note, no way am I even comparing myself to any of these people!!)  

And I'd love to live on a mountain top - fellowshipping with the Lord.  And even in this desert/wilderness, I have had amazing mountain top experiences - my whole being has felt the ecstasy of the Presence of God.

I’ve read about those that went through the Nazi concentration camps (and into the fiery furnaces).  I am amazed at their fortitude and faith.  

*****

A little mental exercise for you today.  What would life be like if for some strange reason God led you (or permitted) you to go to the desert?  Or, like Job, you lost everything quickly.

Would you come back changed from time in the desert/wilderness?  

A friend is going through a health desert currently.  Chemotherapy, tongue biopsy, and family issues.  But she is generally upbeat and positive.

*****

Karen Anne White didn’t exist in this form six years ago.  Karen Anne White is still learning.  Karen Anne White has been humbled.  Like a caterpillar in a cocoon, Karen is seeing the cocoon change and open into her new butterfly shape.  

I’m not quite sure I want to wish that you go through that metamorphosis to be a butterfly; I’ll let you know in a few more years!!!

But, Karen Anne White has learned that LOVE WINS, that judgment and hate isn’t a good lifestyle for her, that we all are created in the image and likeness of God.  

And, you my friends, if you haven’t had this wilderness experience, it is coming.  If nothing else, you will go through a physical change called death.

So, the ride might be a little rocky at times.  There are bumps and potholes.  And, learning to sing: Let it be, dear Lord, let it be!! - might help on your journey!!!

LOVE WINS!!!

HUGS

Karen