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
No comments:
Post a Comment