Go to the Mountains. Find the Beauty.

“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” -1 Kings 19:11

I never knew a desert could be so beautiful. Nor did I realize that sometimes the water we need most has the potential to wreck us. I hadn’t noticed the muddy streets that follow the rain and proceed the beauty.

The Desert.
Last week I found myself, along with my World Race team, trekking through a vast desert. Miles and miles of terrain with no vegetation, no water, and few signs of life. And then there were the mountains & my heart was captivated by the beauty of this landscape so foreign to others I have experienced in my life. But I couldn’t pinpoint what drew my heart so close to its splendor.

Have you ever found yourself in a desert? Not a literal one, necessarily, but a place where the desolate landscape seems endless and no matter how many seeds you plant, there are no flowers to show for it? Many times, I have found my spirit there. I have walked through grand forests and beside vast oceans, I have been led by still waters and through green pastures, yet there are still deserts we must navigate. Some are larger than others, some are drier. Some stretch for miles with only flat land in sight, and sometimes there are majestic mountains which make the journey easier to bear.

The Rain.
Even in the Atacama, the driest desert in the world, the rain comes. It comes and the land, so desperate for the life it gives, is wrecked by its arrival. Yesterday it rained on the city of Calama for the first time in a year. When the knowledge came of rain in the west, the city prepared for this long awaited gift. Schools were closed, grocery stores had only a few visitors, families stayed in to wait for the rain. And it came. The rain fell slowly and steadily on the desolate landscape. It was a joyous occasion, but also a messy one. Dirt roads became muddy and roofs leaked. I had never considered the havoc that rain could bring to a landscape in which its presence is so rare. Why was this life giving occurrence causing damage and danger?

When we find our spirits in a desert, we become desperate for living water. We cry out to the Lord for His provision. We want to be filled with him, we want the landscape around us to bloom again. But do we prepare our city for the rain in expectation? Do we make the arrival of God’s rain the priority, or go on with our lives and hope it comes? Many times I have been guilty of praying for rain without cultivating a willing heart to receive it. Other times I have been ready, expectant, and joyful when the rain comes. But while dancing in the rain, I am faced with confusion as I see the messy roads around me. I prayed for flowers and lush fields, but this rain has only made my surroundings muddy and more difficult to navigate. The rain has come, but where is the beauty? Where is the healing?

The Mountains.
In the afternoon we piled into a couple cars with members of the church and hit the road. We could see snow capped mountains in the distance that had previously been bare. Being from Alabama, snow has always been a novelty for me. It brings great excitement and breathtaking beauty. Snow has the ability to transform a landscape in minutes. We drove for miles through muddy roads and saw the toll the rain had taken on the sandy grounds. And then started the snow. Just a dusting at first, the mud below still visible, but the harsh landscape was fading. As we drove further into the mountains, the snow’s beauty took over. The mud was no longer visible, the barren lands hidden beneath the white blanket. The gift of water, the presence of snow, had completely transformed the land. Here was beauty like no other.

The rain comes, it floods our hearts and we hope for immediate beauty. We expect flowers and fields to lay our weary head. But more often than not, our life becomes messy. The Lord makes His presence known & we are filled with great joy. But then friends disappoint, ministry efforts appear void, and life is hard. It is here that we must make a decision about our desert. We can wait for beauty to be revealed, or we can go find it. We serve an amazing God. He tells us, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9) We may not understand the land in which we are standing, we may be confused and troubled my the mud, but if only we will go to the mountains. If we seek the Lord, He is faithful to reveal the beauty.

So friends, I urge you, wherever you find yourself, whatever landscape surrounds you, seek the Lord and His beauty. God’s grace and love has the power to transform any land into one of beauty and abundance. Go to the mountains. Find the beauty.