Short reflections on life in difficult times, drawing on biblical themes and accounts.
Includes blank pages for your thoughts and reflections.
An extract from the book
Shared
Deserts are a common experience. Weakness is a shared language. Each of us encounters our own wilderness. Which is not to say any of this is easy. But you are not strange. You are not alone.
This precious gift we carry within − this light and power − is held in our weak bodies. And this is true for all of us.
2 Corinthians 4 v 7
Death Valley
Death Valley is the hottest place on earth, where nothing seems to grow. And yet, when rain falls there, there is a sudden bloom of flowers, long hidden beneath the surface. Life finds a way.
As the farmer sowed some seeds, some of it fell on fertile ground, and though it may have looked dry, it bore fruit…
Matthew 13 v 8
Brave
Anyone making the brave choice to follow the son of man may well find themselves in the wilderness sooner or later. It’s the road he took.
After the wonder of his baptism and the affirming voice from heaven, the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the desert…
Matthew 4 v 1
Ledge
Imagine standing on a ledge, knowing you could fly off and impress the world. Then turning, walking away, to wash the dust and crud off the feet of others.
‘Throw yourself off and the angels will catch you…’ the tempter hissed.
Matthew 4
Jesus knelt in the dust and washed his disciples’ feet.
John 13 v 4
Difficulty
The desert is different. It’s not so much a place where we encounter difficulty, but a place of difficulty. It is the nature of the desert to be hard, a place where our own problems may find a home. Which is not to say that any of it is easy.
I will entice my people into the desert and speak tenderly to them.
Hosea 2 v 14
Mirror
The wilderness can be a mirror, a place where we meet our true selves. Nothing hidden. Nothing photo-shopped. The respectable wrapping stripped away.
As a bowl of water reflects our faces, so our hearts reflect who we truly are.
Proverbs 27 v 19
Dark Side
Jesus was going to walk into the desert to prepare for a life of humility, courage, compassion and forgiveness; and his preparation required facing up to the dark side of life. For us.
The Holy Spirit urged Jesus to go into the wilderness. Once there he was tempted for forty days. He lived among the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.
Mark 1 vv 12-13