I love the desert. It’s my favorite place in the world. I don’t know exactly what it is about it that draws my heart so, but it draw my heart it does. Its why I named my blog In the Desert with Jesus. And actually, I know exactly why it draws my heart with such ebbing relentlessness over the years. It’s because of Ecclesiastes 3:11,
“He has also set eternity in the human heart.”
God sets out to woo his beloved in this world. A world where we are “foreigners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11). Exiled from a land which this world images only faintly. It images a world to come, one from where God sends love letters to our hearts, scents on the air to remind of us of our true home with him and that this world is barren for the fulfillment of our deepest desires.
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” 1 Corinthians 13:12
“They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.” Hebrews 8:5
Sometimes on my lunch breaks I like to get on the interstate and drive west. I go to a Starbucks that is about the limit to where I can go on my lunch break and not be late back to work. I get some coffee (or earl grey tea; today I tried out their new Cascara Latte – not too bad!) and I breathe. I breathe in the air, the western horizon where the unending blue sky hits the great plains. I feel like I am watching a movie about somewhere that I deeply want to go. I stand up in front of the TV and it’s right there, right in front of me. But not really, because on the other side it’s just wires and electronics. Same here. The desert might be hours down the road if I hopped in my car and just kept going west, but even when I get there, I’m not really there. I know this, because I have been to the desert, to New Mexico, many, many times. And while it’s beautiful and reminds me of home, it doesn’t satisfy the ache. It doesn’t do it! I don’t think I could ever move there because it would not satisfy the longing of my heart.
No, the longing for the desert is a longing for home. For Jesus where he is waiting on me at our home. The one in John 14:2 where he said he was going to prepare a place for me, and you, my brother and sister in Christ. That’s what I’m longing for, that’s what God is wooing me home to. Oh the ache runs deep, especially today as I’m back from my expedition. An exile at work for the Kingdom in a barren world, where lost souls longing for a home and God they do not know cry out for help, where we must approach them in love and compassion and wisdom.
What place has God put in your heart to woo you home to him?
Blessings,
Joel
inthedesertwithjesus 
For me, it would be somewhere snowy, with trees lightly covered in snow and snow falling quietly and peacefully from the sky. A still night. That’s my view of heaven on earth and I can only imagine the beauty in store for us in the Kingdom!
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That’s beautiful! I remember going to Colorado for me and my wife’s honeymoon and seeing the light snow falling at night, the mountains and trees were just covered in soft snow and then being inside around a fire and seeing these beautiful mountains outside…it was just heavenly. It’s a view I would imagine is a distant image of what we might see outside of Jesus’ living room. Lovely! Great pick!!
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For me it’s the mountains, way up high… Where glaciers roam and trolls are a part of folk tales 😉 he he… For me it’s Norway and the wide-stretched mountain plains where reindeers run free. I couldn’t live there (no shopping mall… ahem), but my heart longs for it!
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I googled this and it’s lovely! Good choice! Mountains are probably my second favorite next to the desert. That’s beautiful! haha, no shopping malls! Hey does Amazon deliver up there? 😉
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seriously doubt it… but maybe during winter when sleighs are used?!?
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A table, a banquet with a full feast and family all around the table laughing and loving with no brokenness or derision. I long for this. I know this cannot be without Jesus. And when we are home we will be banqueting with our Lord.
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Love this one!! Amen! I am excited for a banquet with family surrounding the table with Jesus at the center of it all. That’s going to be a great feast!!
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“The Great Outdoors” with pines and lakes aplenty, amidst the hills and mountains 🙂 With a cabin nearby to retreat to and enjoy time spent both alone and with family and friends. A place where you can watch and enjoy both a hot summer and snowy winter. I grew up visiting a rustic (really rustic 😛 ) place just like this, owned by my Grandpa just outside the city. Time there was always filled with fun, fellowship, and family 🙂 And that’s what I always look forward to.
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Now that sounds fantastic! My friend and coworker was showing me where he and his family would go to their cabin in New Mexico down by Ruidoso and it was just like that…cabin overlooking a valley boxed in by mountains all around. He said it was beautiful both in summer and winter. Perfect! I can just imagine sitting out there on the back porch with some coffee and just resting in our Father’s arms watching the beauty of the mountains he has made. That’s a great one!!
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love this so so so much.
truly nothing can satisfy that ache. I am reminded of Psalm 119:19, “I am a sojourner on earth; hide not your commandments from me!”
I know you haven’t been blogging but just wanted to say I am thankful for your meditations on His word. They are of much comfort and encouragement. Hope you are well!
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Hey thank you so much 🙂 I really appreciate it. Bless you! Hope you are doing well and that your summer is going well! I haven’t been on here nearly as much, I miss it though.
oh you’re so right, that ache. It’s always there. Always will be I think until we step into the presence of our God. God bless you so much!!
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