Desert Survival

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and fortress; my God, in Him will I trust." Psalm 91: 1-2

The desert is one of the harshest places on earth for humans to survive. The unforgiving temperature and sparse landscape make any type of prolonged existence in a desert more than difficult. Two things in particular have brought about the death of unprepared desert wanderers over the years - dehydration and heat stroke. The lack of water, and the human body simply overheating are the two obstacles that must be overcome if you ever found yourself stranded in a desert. With this in mind, there is one thing that will help you with both, something to look for immediately...and that is shade.

Not only can the temperature be considerably less in the shade, thus keeping your body temperature down, but the shade also helps you conserve water by discouraging sweat. When faced with a harsh desert environment, the first thing you must do find some shade and be still.

Much of the Bible was written by people all too familiar with the harshness and danger of the desert. Israel was surrounded by the Sahara desert to the south and the Arabian desert to the east. In fact much of their land is on what geologists would call a rocky plateau desert. They knew that deserts could kill you, if you did not respect them. They knew the value of shade for one's salvation.

David, in the Psalm above, describes God as shade, and encourages all to abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Journeying through life can certainly feel like journeying through an unforgiving desert can't it? Not only can it beat us down, starve and exhaust us - but it can often leave us feeling all alone, scared, and uncertain about what might be coming next. It doesn't take much living to come to the realization that life is more likely to be desert than amusement park.

For those wandering in the desert, David gives us hope and salvation. He invites us to take up residence in the shade of God: To draw near to Him and to be still in the protection of His shadow.

The desert moments in our lifes journey will come, and they will try to consume and overtake us. We have two choices to make in response - try to go it on our own by stubbornly putting our head down and trudging through the heat of the day in no particular direction, or to seek out the protective shade of our good and loving God.

May the shadow of our LORD protect and replenish you on your journey.

Be God's, Scott