Will you find God in the desert?

In the ancient Hebrew scriptures we hear about the Mountain of God which sounds exciting and awe inspiring. It was here on mount Sinai that the Lord wrote the ten commandments on tablets of stone with Moses. The Torah given to the people of Israel. Lightning flashed and thunder bellowed In the presence of God.

All the people experienced the thunder, the lightning, the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled. Standing at a distance…
—Exodus 20:15

Later we see Elijah who had just seen the fire of God fall from the sky and consume the sacrifice on a drenched altar, declare his sovereignty as king of the universe and ridicule the prophets of ba'al. Jezebel wanted to kill him and he was scared...

And it says that he traveled to mount Horeb, which is the mountain of God. “Horeb” is a Hebrew word which means desert. It comes from a root word chârab (חרב) which means desolate, wasted, dried up.

He got up, ate and drank, and, on the strength of that meal, traveled forty days and nights until he reached Horev the mountain of God.
—1 Kings 19:8 CJB

And it struck me that while there have been many times when I've gone through desert seasons where God feels far, it's often in those places where God has shaped me the most. He's purified things in my life, changed my perspective, and rooted my thinking in Him.

Like Moses on mount Sinai or Elijah in in Horeb, perhaps God wants to meet with you. To take you through the desert and the fire so that you're refined and more like his Son. To get you away from the noise of everyday modern life so you can hear the whisper of His voice.

Will you trust him enough to walk the path and follow wherever he leads, even if you end up in the desert? Will you have eyes to see and ears to hear what his Spirit is doing?

May you trust that the king of the universe is working even in the desert places to work out his purposes in your life for your good and His glory.