Most of us are so steeped in the achievement values of our contemporary Western culture that we take for granted that an intense level of ministry activity is normal. If a door of opportunity opens for us, we assume walking through it must be God’s will. It is not.
The reality, however, is that this tendency to blindly seize more and more opportunities for God has destroyed many a leader.
Throughout Scripture and the history of the church, the desert has been a place of spiritual preparation, purification, and transformation. Moses spent forty years in the desert before God called him to lead his people out of Egypt. The prophet Elijah lived in the desert and, as a result, stood firm in one of the lowest moments of Israel’s history. John the Baptist spent much of his adult life in the desert. Paul spent three years in the Arabian Desert receiving God’s revelation before beginning his apostolic ministry.
This podcast looks at Jesus’ intentional movement from active ministry with people to times of solitude in a desert place in order to be alone with the Father. It also examines practical ways we can develop a similar rhythm of finding our “desert” with God—regardless of the unique season or circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Spending time in solitude and silence is not a luxury or something better suited for a different kind of leader than you. Jesus models for us that they are essential spiritual practices for any effective leadership we do in his name.
