Hosanna Restoration Church

I have often heard people say that they felt like they were in a desert or like they felt deserted. As a rule, good thoughts do not come to mind when a desert is mentioned. I personally have a fond recollection of the first time my wife and drove down into the desert and seeing her response to the big cactus and other desert plants. She was bouncing in her seat and cheering; oh it brings a smile to my face just to write about it.

It occurs to me that if we are following the Lord’s leading in our lives; we could get pretty excited about a desert too! When the angel spoke to Philip, it obviously did not make sense from a ministry point of view to leave the great success he was having and head for the desert. A person would wonder what in the world God was thinking. You would think Philip would point out that he was getting good crowds and that lots of miracles were taking place. Why in the world would God want to interrupt this?

It seems that Philip must have learned to trust that God really did know what he was doing, because Philips response to the assignment was simply to head for that road in the desert. I don’t know if Philip was going along expecting some grand thing or if he was just going, but there in the desert was a man in a carriage and God told him to catch up with it. So he did!

In that carriage he heard a man reading about Jesus (though he did not know it), and Philip loved stories about Jesus. Everything he saw and everything he heard reminded him of Jesus. He was always on the lookout for opportunities to share the Good News. As soon as the man finished reading, Philip took the opportunity to ask him if he knew what he was reading about. The rest is history. Philip told him the Good News, the man asked to be baptized, and God whisked Philip away. Now that is a good day on the desert.

Let’s look at what God new that Philip did not when he first received the assignment. God knew there was someone of great influence from Ethiopia who was looking for Jesus. God removed Philip from a city to sow a seed for a country. Not only did this man have political influence, he controlled Ethiopia’s purse strings. That would be a real boost to the cause wouldn’t it?

Philip may have had no idea what God had in mind when he sent him on this journey, but we can learn something from him that will help us. If we really feel like God has led us to a desert road, let’s not waste our time feeling sorry for ourselves and expecting the worst. Let’s expect to see Jesus and share Jesus. Let’s look for the treasure. It may not be a treasurer, but most certainly God has a good plan. We can expect God to provide springs in the desert and smooth straight roads. If we trust the Lord and look for the right things, we will find them.