"Ruach" in the Desert

Cairo, Egypt. 

400 degrees Fahrenheit.   

 Ok, so maybe not quite that hot, but it sure felt that way.

We were hardly hours into our trip and we embarked on our first hike in the middle of the Egyptian desert that surrounded the ancient pyramids.  While other tourists were taking their pictures and getting back on their air conditioned buses, we were hiking…   in 400 degrees. 

We gathered in a circle a decent length hike away from the pyramids, huffing and puffing and taking a drink of our much-needed water, and a light but soul-refreshing breeze circled around our group.

“Do you feel that ruach?” our leader said. 

Ruach.  Hebrew= breath, wind, spirit…

Did we feel that “ruach”?   That wind that gave us our breath back?  That breeze that gave us a glimmer of comfort?  That light gust bringing welcome relief from the scorching heat?  Did we feel it?

“Do you feel that ruach,

that breath of God in the wilderness?”  the leader continued. 

The breeze circled our group yet again as we all took another sip of water.

And then leader George spoke words that will forever be engraved on my heart: 

               

“God doesn’t take the heat away, but sends his ruach to make it bearable.”

Wow. God may not take suffering away, but he sends his wind, his spirit, his breeze of comfort and peace to make life bearable.

How often in life have we been found in that desert?   When was the last time you were in a desert of your life – where the heat of life circumstances was almost unbearable?   Maybe even now you find yourself in an exhausting desert of the soul…

And how many of us pray and hope for God to just take that unbearable heat away?   To get us the hell out of that desert – because hell is how awful that desert feels…

And there’s nothing wrong with crying out to God, asking him to take it away; the psalms are full of these prayers.  BUT we can’t always expect life to be free of hard times when we are children of God.  And we can’t expect God to immediately alleviate suffering in our lives.  Being God’s people doesn’t make life easy...

but

but

It does mean we have a God who makes difficult times bearable.  It means we have a God who walks beside us, sending his Spirit, his refreshing wind to rejuvenate us even when there is no relief in sight.  It means we can have a deep sense of peace no matter how isolated, sorrowful, or desert-ed we feel.

Do you remember a time this past summer on one of those intolerably hot days when you said or thought, “If it wasn’t for this breeze, this heat would be unbearable?”  

If it wasn’t for that breeze, that Spirit, that ruach of God, life would be unbearable…

The next time you find yourself in one of life’s deserts, allow the Spirit of the God of the universe to refresh your soul.

“God doesn’t take the heat away, but sends his ruach to make it bearable.” 

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Jeremiah 31:25

40 blogs in 40 weeks

Three short months ago I embarked on an unforgettable journey to the Middle East that forever changed the way I see the world, and more importantly, the way I see the God who created this world… and each one of us.  

Since returning from that trip, I’ve been wrestling with how to even begin to share with others and pass along the wonder of all the things I’ve learned and seen.  So often, life’s busyness strangles our time to reflect, and we move on from life’s experiences and continue on with life, trying to find our way back to “normal.” 

But my problem?  I don’t necessarily want “the normal” any more.  After spending time experiencing the Bible and learning about God  in a completely new context, I don’t feel like going back to “normal” is an option anymore.  There’s so much to share; so much to reflect on; and still so much more to learn…

 After months of stewing over how to pass on the blessings of this trip, I’ve decided to start writing again, and am challenging myself to write a weekly blog based on a profound insight or fact that was presented to me on this Middle East trip.  Years ago I would try to write more often, reflecting on who God was and his significance in all our lives, and I have been convicted to take that up again, even though it will be just weekly.  I’m definitely not a “preacher” by any means (unlike half of the study group I travelled with!), but one thing I enjoy doing and a way I can share is through writing.  So, here I am, going to dare to venture and say I will do this for the next -- here goes-- 40 weeks!!  Yikes… 40 blogs in 40 weeks, when most days I hardly have time to shower!!  But let me explain to you why this is so significant:

The number “40” in the Bible has more significance than I ever gave it credit for.  I always had understood as “completeness” but it means so much more than that. The number “40” carries with it overtones of “understanding” and the fullness of understanding.  When God took Israel out of Egypt only to have them wander in the desert wilderness for 40 years, it wasn’t so much punishment for disobedience as much as it was God desiring for his people to gain a more full understanding of him, to give them the opportunity to more fully comprehend and know their God. 

And that’s my hope over the next 40 weeks:  that once a week, I can share with you 40 wonderful insights I was blessed to learn on my trip to the Middle East.  Obviously, even a lifetime is nowhere near enough to truly and fully know and understand our God.  But so often it is so hard to truly stop in our busy lives, and truly reflect on and spend time with the God who so desperately wants us to get to know and us.  So even in my “crazy busy,” “hardly-even-get-a-shower” life, I want to stop, reflect, and spend time understanding this God who wants us to more fully understand and love him.

It is my hope that in the next 40 weeks, you will journey with me, and together we can get a small glimpse of what it means to know God, and come that much closer “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:18)

Come, let’s go…