Going into the Desert

I’ve always liked envisioning an image of the desert.  It is a place that is warm, quiet, and probably pretty empty.  A space so different compared to the full and fast-paced environment we live in.  A place with no distractions and where we can hear more clearly.  A place that is still.  While we may at first think that nothing good can come from the desert, especially after hearing this weekend’s gospel, where Jesus is tempted there, we must think again.  We are all called to follow Jesus into the desert, to find our own sort of desert.  Because while Jesus was tempted by Satan, He also overcame the temptations.  And that’s what He wants to teach us too, that we can overcome the temptations and lies of the devil, but only with His help.

This weekend, I was able to spend time in adoration, late at night and also at many other times throughout the weekend, while a men’s retreat was going on.  It was sort of like a desert, or at least I imagined it to be.  Quiet, calm, no distractions, away from the outside world, sitting with Jesus in prayer.  Being in that chapel, it felt like I was on a retreat, and I forgot about anything going on outside in the world.

As I sat in the chapel, truly the best place to be on these weekends, I was reminded that anything we face out in the world, He faces with us, and without Him, we can do nothing.  I think sometimes we are scared to follow Jesus into the desert.  What will we hear?  How will He call us to walk more closely with Him?  How will our lives be changed?  But we don’t have to worry about any of these things.  Because when we sit before Jesus in the blessed sacrament, He reminds us that He has walked the path we are walking and He walks it with us everyday so that we don’t have to face the world and all the lies, evil, and temptations of the devil alone.

Satan wants to whisk us away and disrupt our peace, joy, and ultimately, our souls.  But Jesus fights for us.  He does this not in a forceful, demanding, or aggressive way, but in a gentle and inviting way.  He is always working to draw us closer, even if we do not recognize it or if we wander away from Him.  When you spend time in eucharistic adoration, you will experience peace, joy, and love that you can’t find in the world.  Your heart will be changed and transformed.
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Find your desert- a place free of the stuff and distractions, a place you can experience the deep love He has for you.  Any lies you believe, fears you have, or burdens you are carrying, Jesus will take away.  As you walk with Him this Lent, may you allow your heart to be transformed and may you remember that He is with you, leading you always.