Beauty in the Wildnerness...

I wrote this revelation I had just over 2 years ago.  A friend of mine shared yesterday how she and two others we know were feeling as if they were stuck in the wilderness and didn't know what God wanted for their lives.  My first instinct is to encourage but there are times where I don't always have the right words of encouragement to share.  But I realized suddenly that I had had a revelation about he wilderness that might bring needed encouragement that I blogged about 2 years ago.  I printed out copies for those three friends today and brought it to them at church.  But I am sensing that someone else may need the encouragment I found in this revelation.  Praying someone get's blessed reading this!


Revelation of the Beauty of the Desert/Wilderness Places
Written 2/7/09
By Tamara “Tami” Blue


As I was waking up and seeking the Lord today I felt an excitement enter me once again while reading out of Isaiah 41. I wrote out some of the promises that spoke to me in this chapter which is loaded with promise. I lingered on a few but when I reached Isaiah 41:18-20 something sparked in me, revelation…

I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Wow, something occurred to me that I had not hit on before. A simple fact that just had not hit my spirit, the desert in bloom, lush, fertile… I’ve always viewed the desert or wilderness places as desolate, dry, scorching, sandy and uncomfortable. My husband is from Southern California and loves the desert. He’s always tried to share with me the beauty of the desert but being from a very lush evergreen state I just never understood what he was talking about. My perception of the desert was not a pleasant one. But today, God hipped me to a new revelation and of the beauty hidden in the desert and or wilderness places.


As I was reading this and writing in my journal I felt led to do a search on the internet of the deserts of Israel. I wanted to see what they looked like, to get familiar with the desert and wilderness places of the Bible. I ran across some amazing pictures of oasis places, water falls, and of the desert in bloom. Of course there were the pictures of the dry desolate desert but I was sparked by the lush pictures. So this prompted a new search regarding when Spring begins in Israel, what month Spring begins. To my joy and excitement I found out that Spring begins in February, which we are now in. Wow, there really is beauty to behold in the desert that I had never realized before.


Then it occurred to me how we view the desert or wilderness places that the Lord takes us to correlates to the condition of our hearts. Wow! I hadn’t thought about that before. We can view it so many different and often negative ways. We can see it as a punishment and a discouraging place. But to behold the beauty of it, well that is kind of profound.


I had a vision a short time ago of a beautiful old tent as in the Bible in the middle of the desert in a vast open flat plain but with mountains surrounding it in the distance. It was night time and there was a beautiful amber glow from lampstands lighting the perimeter of the tent. The tent’s entry was open and I could see the golden glow of the lampstands inside the tent. It was so inviting and had a fragrant smell drawing me in. As I walked in I saw the Lord sitting on a rug and inviting me to sit with Him. As I sat down He pulled me in holding me and the incense seemed to swirl around me wrapping me closer into Him. The vision stopped there but was so beautiful and I can still visualize it clearly. In this place there was no one else, just me alone with the Lord. It is a place of beauty and intimacy where He longs to meet with each of us.

The Lord takes us to the desert wilderness places purposefully and there are many reasons and things that He desires to show us in this place. There are many things He wants to do within us and through us in this place. For years I’ve wanted out of the desert wilderness place and have grumbled to Him saying “enough is enough”. Now I am learning of the intimacy of this place and of the beauty to be discovered.


Yes, the desert can be a hostile place, a place of pure challenge. But God’s word shows time and time again how He cares for those He draws into that place. What is the condition of your heart? How do you view the desert? Have you had a negative view of it? Is it dry and desolate or can you see the oasis’s within it, fertile trees teaming with life that also providing cooling shelter? Are you parched, dry and thirsty or have you found the pools of living water? Are you stranded out in the open or have you found that hiding place in the cleft of the rocks? It is up to you what you make of this time and how you view it. For years I viewed it from a wrong perspective. Now I understand the beauty within it.

Take the time to commune alone with the Lord in this place. He wants to meet with us here; there are things He desires to show us in this place. Let Him dazzle you under vast open skies, open Heavens, seek Him in the oasis and His glory in the cleft of the rock. Search for the pools, streams and waterfalls of living water. Sit under the Acacia tree and feed off of the honey that runs smooth. This is a special place and the season is ripe with new life.

Spring is upon us, the desert is coming into bloom. New season, new life, new birth, new joy and beauty to behold. Take the time to sit with the Lord and behold His goodness, His love, His counsel, His cleansing and the life He has for each of us. The desert can be hard, it can feel desolate, it can be scorching and it can also be cold. We can feel as though we are alone and dying in this place and sometimes that is purposed to purge us of lifeless ways and or thoughts. But it is only for a season and then comes new life.

…In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 16:11


I was also led to read Isaiah 35. Many of us have felt we’ve been wandering in the wilderness for quite some time. But we’ve turned a corner. And, though there is still much more to be revealed in this new season this passage sparks excitement, hope and joy…

The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
The excellency of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“ Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.

They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away!!!