When all you see is sand, seek an oasis

Having grown up in Wisconsin and then living in the Carolinas for most of our adult lives, my late husband Tim and I wanted to see an oasis. So, on a trip that included Palm Springs, California, we drove out to Thousand Palms.

The sparkling pond and tall swaying palm trees were lovely, but we realized that to fully appreciate the value of an oasis one probably must visit and maybe even spend time in a desert.

So, on another trip, we put a day in Death Valley on our itinerary. Experiencing that hot dry air on our faces--along with looking out over vast expanses of nothing but sand, sand and more sand--we started to “get it.”

Water, of course, is what’s key. An oasis is usually the only source of fresh water for miles around. The water table is near the surface, and often there are springs. Thus, the lush green growth. And thus, life for man and beast.

When problems stack up and life is so hard, we may feel like we are living in a harsh, barren desert--and barely surviving. Our very soul is parched, and we become like that deer mentioned in the Bible--the one that “pants for streams of water,” according to Psalm 42.

In that psalm, the writer describes how downcast and disturbed he has been, and how he’s shed many tears. Perhaps you can relate? But he doesn’t look for help in all the wrong places. Instead, he wisely recognizes that his thirst is for fellowship with the living God.

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul,” David wrote in Psalm 23.

But how do we get that restoration? Much is written and spoken these days about our need for relaxation to counter work and stress. And relaxation has its place.

“But while relaxation is one thing, refreshment is another,” wrote Ruth Bell Graham. “We need to drink frequently and at length from God’s fresh springs, to spend time in the Scripture, time in fellowship with Him, time worshiping Him.” I would add spending time with fellow believers—something that often uplifts me.

It’s not just our bodies that need rejuvenation; so do our spirits and our souls. And there’s no getting around doing just what Mrs. Graham spelled out for us, i.e., investing time and effort in what some call spiritual disciplines.

As we practice them regularly, we can ask God to bless us with rivers in our own desolate deserts, as He promises us in Isaiah 43:19: “Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Do you see it? I will make a road in the desert and rivers in the dry land.”

Stephen Olford says we can pray for personal revival and He will visit us, “restoring, reanimating and releasing [us] into the fullness of His blessing.”

Depleted, drained, weak and floundering? Here’s a Bible promise that I pray becomes reality for you: “And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (I Peter 5:10, NIV).