“Therefore I am now going to allure
her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards and
will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.”
(Hosea 2:14-15)
My family
lived in Amarillo, Texas for a few years.
The dry, dusty land felt barren to me, and the lack of lush green
landscapes to which I was accustomed in Tennessee left me feeling parched of
spirit. It was a desert of sorts for my
family both literally and figuratively.
Being a caregiver can feel like such a desert. It is a lonely place where only the ones who
have walked a similar path can begin to comprehend the barrenness. Only those who have been caregivers can grasp
the weariness and starvation for fountains of fellowship that seem to
dry up as life’s challenges intensify. I realized in my desert that my fountain of
fellowship was not with friends and family, but with God. God had been alluring me. God had led me into the desert to speak
tenderly to me in ways that no friend or family member could. God has made my Valley of Achor, that place
of pain and loneliness, the door of my hope.
The question is not why you are in this place of pain and loneliness,
but what hope is God giving you in the valley?
Only then can one find peace and comfort, not from man, but true peace
and comfort from God.
Draw me near to you, Lord, to find my
hope in you and my peace in you. In You,
alone, there are springs of peace and joy in all circumstances, in the driest of
deserts. You are there calling my name waiting
to reveal these things to me. Thank, you
Lord Jesus. I praise Your Holy Name!
