“Intentional silence, even for a mature Christian, can feel either scary or entirely superfluous, but when we make time for silence, we carve out space for transformation. We have to detach in order to attach. . . . We’re pushing aside outer noise and saying yes to an inner stillness where God has the chance […]
“In the darkness [the children of Israel] had to turn toward God with their cries, asking again and again, Are you there for me? Do you see me? Will you be there for me in the future? When new attachments need to be formed, the desert is oddly your friend. It’s where emptiness becomes fullness. […]
“[David] paints a desperately lonely picture. Pelicans need the water, not the wilderness. The wilderness is no place for them. David’s lonely pelican is desolate, dejected, defeated, despairing, distressed . . .” – Ruth Graham “I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I am like an owl out of the desert . . . […]
“Our earthly longings begin to fade when we realize how precious life is. We simply cannot fill the hole in our hearts that we are born with, no matter how hard we try.”- Meredith McDaniel Then the LORD said to Moses,”I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out […]
“The desert may mean being put on the shelf for a season, but from your perch you will experience the reality of a living God like never before.”- Os Hillman “He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.”- Daniel 2:22 Os Hillman continues Chapter 10 of […]
“Don’t fear the desert; it is there where you will hear God’s voice as never before.”- Os Hillman “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyard, and will make the Valley of Achor (trouble) a […]
As Sara Horn continues Chapter 9 of How Can I Possibly Forgive?, she points out that the mistake we make in getting angry with God is that He is our only true source for receiving he help and peace we need. We are implicitly saying that God is worse for us than better, that He […]
“What matters most is not the accomplishments you achieve; what matters is the person you become.”- Dallas Willard John Ortberg begins Chapter 3 (“A Soul-Challenged World”) of Soul Keeping by stating that the cries of the soul are very real and what matters deeply about us. The fly in the ointment is that the material […]
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin.”- Hebrews 4:15 Max Lucado concludes Chapter 16 of Next Door Savior by stressing that Jesus journeyed into the wilderness for […]
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.’- Luke 4:1-2 Max Lucado begins Chapter 16 (“The Long, Lonely Winter- Wilderness Places”) of Next Door Savior with this description of the wilderness of the soul: […]