In The Desert of My Heart

By Angeline M Duran Santiago

Ever find yourself listening to complaint after complaint, looking at the situation before you and feeling powerless? Do you ever put on a happy face and try to face the world with a positive outlook, but end up having to deal with the problems, the worries and the challenges that say, "I'm here!" and yes, it seems they're here to stay? I know for a fact that I am not alone when I say that even when we know how to reach out to God during hard times, somehow, yes, someway, we find ourselves in an unwanted place.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

 I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.   Isaiah 43:19

That place we don't enjoy being stuck in is a lot like the wilderness. A forsaken place. A holding place that is barren, dry, and void of life. That place in our lives is like a desert, no green trees filled with bunches of leaves to provide shade and no ocean waves, crashing and laughing our way, saying, "I dare you to come jump the waves!" Nope. Maybe, if you're like me, we're often in this lonely place either completely hidden from life, lost in the wilderness of a place that is without habitation and with no one fighting to go build homes and put up a mall anytime soon.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

 I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.   Isaiah 43:19

So, if you are struggling with the thirst and the overbearing heat that comes with being stuck in the desert, I want to ask you to look at the first word, the command to look, check this out, come over here and get ready to listen. It says, "Behold!" Behold to me is like an old word being spoken by the King's Messenger after traveling for a very long time, going through some battles, and ending up before the King's court, perhaps tired, beat up, dirty and really hungry. But, he gets the strength and the courage to give his message. "Behold!"

That is what the Lord is saying to you and me today, "Behold!" Look, get ready to see and understand what I am about to tell you. The verse continues and says, "I am doing a new thing." Something new?

Yes, something new, fresh, amazing, and something I can not even begin to imagine and perceive but God is saying, "Hey, listen up, I am getting ready to do something right before your eyes." And, yes, this reminds me of that part in the movie, "Warriors" where one of the characters says, "Can you did it?" So, I say it like that, "Can you dig it?" Do you get what is about to take place here?

Next, we see- "Now it springs forth,"  (definition)

to rise, leap, move, or act suddenly and swiftly, to be released from a constrained 

position, as by resilient or elastic force or from the action of a spring:to issue forth 

suddenly, as water, blood, sparks, fire, etc. (often followed by forth, out, or up) to come into being, rise, or arise within a short time. 

So, what I'm hearing here is the Lord saying to me, (to us), Angie, Look over here! I am getting ready, (literally preparing myself) to do something totally new, out of the ordinary, that you were not even expecting or can imagine, but it's coming. Angie, look here, Behold, over to me, now (not tomorrow or later) NOW it springs forth, now it rises, moves, and is released from a constrained position, suddenly, the way water or something just comes forth, YES, just like that (keep that image in your mind) I will do it. And then he adds, "Do you not perceive it?" In other words- Aren't or weren't you expecting this? Isn't this something you had a feeling was going to happen?

And this is where I find myself when the Lord says, "I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." So, if I am stuck in this wilderness and if I am struggling in this desert, God is getting ready (IN MY EMPTY PLACE, IN MY LONELY PLACE, HERE IN THIS BATTLEFIELD WHERE LIFE IS HARD, WHERE PRAYER SEEMS HARD, WHERE MY KIDS GET SICK, WHERE LIFE HURTS) God is saying, "I will put a river there!"

Life. He is bringing life.

God is declaring over me and over you that when you are mistreated, when people life throws you into despair, when you are left alone in the desert of your sorrows, God will provide a river of blessing. That river is ounces and liters and millions of drops of water. That river is gallons and gallons of God's blessings, God's provision, and God's presence in your life while you are in that desert. Yes! Hallelujah! God shows up in the middle of your wilderness. 

So, that's where we may find ourselves, but isn't it a great place to be.
Then, Lord, let me pass through this desert, because I will experience waters of your blessing like never before. Help me be strong while I am in this wilderness, because you will create a rainstorm so great that rivers will be created for me to jump inside and be drenched in the rivers of your blessings!

Lord, I will trust in you as I pass through this desert. I wait on you as I sit here with no shade or cover. I depend on your for my needs and know you will not abandon me in the wasteland.