Every Desert Has an Oasis
by Andrew McQuitty
Week of December 5, 2004
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we
know that they are good for us – they help us learn to endure. And
endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens
our confident expectation of salvation.” (Romans 5:3-4, NLT)
In the midst of gala celebrations and Christmas pageantry, you may feel far-removed from the joy and cheer that mark the holidays. In fact, you may be wondering, "Where is God? I have been a believer for 25 years. Why do I feel so hopeless and lonely?"
Andy McQuitty, pastor of Irving Bible Church in Irving, Texas, recently wrote a profound message about losing heart spiritually. He stated that slothfulness has everything to do with spiritual apathy—it’s not simply about being lazy. He gave us permission to share his insights:
“If [slothfulness] makes visions of couch potatoes and two-hour lunch breaks dance in your head, you’re thinking symptom and not disease. The real disease behind sloth is what ancient theologians called accedie, which means to lose heart spiritually. When we feel alienated from God and spiritually discouraged, we naturally become complacent, fatalistic and apathetic. It’s the apathy that leads to the couch, not vice versa. If you’ve ever felt that way, take heart. You’re not alone.”
McQuitty notes that from Jesus being taunted on the cross to Paul in a Philippian jail to Christians in Nero’s Coliseum, people of faith have asked, “Where is my God?”
“If you’ve ever asked that question, you’re in good company,” McQuitty writes. “King David, man after God’s own heart, asked it. Righteous Job asked it. Fleeing Jonah asked it. Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet, asked it. Pursued by the wicked Jezebel, Elijah asked it. John the Baptizer, according to Jesus, the greatest among men, asked it from Herod’s dungeon. Jesus Himself asked it from the cross: ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’
“All of God’s children are schooled in the desert of God’s seeming-absence. Deserts leave no stone unturned, no body untainted, no life untouched and no heart unbroken… God doesn’t take us to the desert to leave us there, but to teach us there. It’s the desert that brings lessons of faith and humility and compassion truly home to our hearts. Therefore, it’s always too soon to quit when you’re following Christ, too soon to give up when you’re seeking God’s best.
“Accedie is the sin of bailing out on God before He’s finished the work He’s doing in you or through you!” The solution? “Stay the course and hang tough,” writes McQuitty. “Every desert in God’s plan has an oasis.”
I walked a mile with pleasure, she chattered all the way, But none left me the wiser, for all she had to say; I walked a mile with sorrow, and ne'er a word said she, But, oh the things I learned from her, when sorrow walked with me.
--Robert Browning Hamilton
This Week
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for nearly 40 years, often grumbling about their plight—but God supplied their needs. To be reminded of God’s goodness and love, compile a “gratitude list” of big and small needs He has met in your life. Add to the list what you’ve learned in the desert and how you can grow through your present situation.
Prayer
“Heavenly Father, I know you are working in me and developing my character. Help me not to lose heart and to be grateful for Your blessings, which I often overlook. Teach me to put my complete trust in You, whether I’m on a mountaintop or in the valley, because even when it feels like You are far away…You are right there beside me.”
Andrew McQuitty is a friend of LIFE and the Senior Pastor of Irving Bible Church in Irving, Texas.
