The Desert of Self-discovery

The desert, a vast land that is seemingly endless. I had a chance to be in one in a mission trip to Dubai. I wondered how people know their way through the desert if the landscape changes every time a strong wind blows. It is not the same place as what we may have seen before. But of course there's a compass that points us to a general direction. And there's the north star that guides us.

The desert is also associated with being thirsty. If you're out of water while walking on sand under scorching heat, an oasis is something you would want to find.

In the Old testament, we remember how the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. From the gospel, we recall that Jesus was in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, before embarking on His mission, "Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. Luke 4:1."The desert allows us to discover who we are. The question 'who am I?' comes to our lives every so often like when we were deciding on a course to take in college, when we were looking for the right job or business, or when we go through a quarter life or midlife crisis. For a time, we get lost, finding ourselves hungry,thirsty, empty, and vulnerable. I could understand that this was the best time for the devil to tempt Jesus with wealth, fame,and power. I could also understand that God wanted Israel to rediscover and realize who they were and their purpose, during those 40 years in the desert.

When we are in the desert of self-discovery, our own ambitions become less important and God's will becomes clearer. But the journey to self-discovery passes through hunger, thirst, and temptations. Our compass and north star is God, who always guides our way, even when the landscape of people and circumstance changes. Without Him, we will get lost and we will succumb to temptation. While in the desert, nothing else is more important than God and our faith in Him. Through Him, we eat His word, the bread of life that fills our hunger. We drink from His oasis, His blood of sacrifice, that will satisfy our thirst. These will make us strong against all temptations. Once we get past the desert, there's a renewed affirmation of who we are. The desert experience comes not only once. We arrive there in the most important decisions in our lives and we have to be firm in our faith. Others get stuck in the desert, some do not survive it, but with God's grace we hope to be enriched, strengthened, and renewed by this challenging experience.