Oases in the Desert


Life is tough.  On many days, our spiritual lives can feel like a desert (especially if you live in west Tennessee during the summer).  For lengthy periods (hours, days, weeks, months, or even years), we seem to be unable to experience the joy, peace, and consolation of the Lord that we so deeply desire.  Who among us hasn’t felt spiritual dryness at some point in our lives, as teenagers or adults?

If we are not prepared for this reality, it is possible that our souls will become permanently parched and petrified.  We become unable to receive any of the living water that God wants to pour out upon us.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my soul to become like that.

Photo found at KCET.com

We can learn a lot about this situation from the history of Israel, God’s chosen people.  Our spiritual lives mirror their story in many ways.  If we can learn the lessons that God desired to teach Israel, then perhaps we will receive the Lord’s provision much more quickly.

The first lesson is about dwelling in the desert.  For 400 years, Israel dwelt in slavery to the kingdom of Egypt.  And they got used to it.  They saw Egyptian gods and wealth on a daily basis.  They became so engrossed in that way of life that they had nearly forgotten who God is and what He wanted to provide to them (cf. Ex. 3:15ff).  They were far from the Lord.

In our own lives, it is possible for us to get far too comfortable in the spiritual dryness of everyday life.  Like the Israelites, we can become easily distracted by physical pleasures like food or sex; by the comforts of wealth like retirement accounts or opulent, ostentatious vacations; or even by the mundane tasks of raising a family.  There are far too many people around who have come to believe that spiritual aridity is normal.  So, they fill their souls with these other, less fulfilling pursuits.

The period after Israel’s liberation provides another important lesson.  God’s chosen people found themselves in an austere desert, without the comforts of Egypt.  Israel complained to Moses, their leader, about God, even saying that they preferred to die in Egypt (cf. Ex. 16:3).  Instead of following God’s plan, which results in total freedom, they would have preferred continued slavery and death if it provided mere physical comfort.  Quite simply, Israel was numb to what the Lord wanted to do for them and in them.

How many people do we know who have become numb, and who have turn back from the Lord and His plan when life becomes difficult?  They would rather remain in the comforts of the world, with souls withering and dying, than trusting that life’s challenges will lead to the abundant, complete joy about which Jesus spoke (cf. Jn. 10:10; Jn. 15:11).  We are called to serve as a Moses-type figure to these people, calling them back to radical trust in God’s providential plan.

Yet, God provides them with lessons and with sustenance all along the way.  A few days after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites find themselves with no water except bitter water.  When Moses interceded for the people, “the Lord showed him a tree, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet” (Ex. 15:25).  This is but the first of many desert provisions for Israel.

This passage should cause us to think of Jesus’ Cross, which is often called a tree.  Like the tree thrown into bitter water, if we allow the Cross to shine light onto the bitter situations of our lives, the grace of Jesus Christ will make those situations sweet.  Many, many saints throughout the history of the Church have written or spoken of the sweetness of suffering in union with Jesus!  The sweetness of knowing that we can become holy, that we are becoming holy, takes away all of the bitterness of suffering.

The Lord has provided an oasis for Israel, and they decide that they will remain planted near twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees.  Even though they will have to move again, this place and this moment is a source of great hope for their journey.  This place fills their physical need and, more importantly, the Lord fills their spiritual need.

In our spiritual journeys, we must find moments or places that are like oases in the desert journey of our life in this world.  As I reflect on this, I am brought to think about the oases in my life.  There are, of course, the Mass and the sacraments.  A sacrament like Anointing of the Sick, which I just received for the first time recently, is especially capable of providing grace and hope in the midst of physical or spiritual suffering.  The Scripture readings at Mass are a constant source of living water (cf. Jn. 4:10), and the Eucharist is the Divine Life coming into my body and soul.

The Ubari Oasis in the Sahara Desert

There are other oases that I have and need.  On most weekdays, I get to spend an hour in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, conversing with Him, reading His word, and listening for His direction.  There is also the coffee, prayer, and conversation with my wife to begin each day by which I receive inspiration for living out my vocation.  Finally, but not least importantly, there are the moments spent communing with my children, helping them to grow in age, wisdom, and grace.

These moments allow me to receive from the Lord exactly what He was trying to provide to Israel.  Along with Moses, I can proclaim, “You have led in your merciful love the people you have redeemed, you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode” (Ex. 15:13).  In this long desert journey called life, the Lord provides wonderful oases along the way.  And, I know that the final destination, his “holy abode,” is the ultimate and unending oasis that will quench my thirst without end.  In the meantime, I will rejoice with gratitude for the small oases that allow me to catch small glimpses of that dwelling place.

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