It’s not the path that you walk, it’s getting to the desired goal.
July 9, 2025
I’m A Desert Guide!
Into the blistering wilderness of Shur, the man who walked with kings now walks alone. Torn from the pinnacle of royal power, stripped of all rank and earthly wealth, a forsaken man without a country, without a hope, his soul in turmoil like the hot winds and raging sands that lash him with the fury of a taskmaster’s whip. He is driven forward, always forward, by a god unknown, toward a land unseen…into the molten wilderness of Sin, where granite sentinels stand as towers of living death to bar his way.
Each night brings the black embrace of loneliness. In the mocking whisper of the wind, he hears the echoing voices of the dark…. His tortured mind wondering if they call the memory of past triumphs or wail foreboding of disasters yet to come or whether the desert’s hot breath has melted his reason into madness. He cannot cool the burning kiss of thirst upon his lips nor shade the scorching fury of the sun. All about is desolation.
He can neither bless nor curse the power that moves him, for he does not know from where it comes.
Learning that it can be more terrible to live than to die, he is driven onward through the burning crucible of desert, where holy men and prophets are cleansed and purged for god’s great purpose, until at last, at the end of human strength, beaten into the dust from which he came, the metal is ready for the maker’s hand.
~The Ten Commandments, 1956
The desert, or wilderness, is something that virtually all Christians experience at some point in their lives. It looks different for everyone, but it generally is a time of hardship, attack, suffering, or sever instability. It can be financial, physical, relational, or spiritual. But, one thing is for sure, this desert stands between you and the promises of God—your destiny. What you do in the desert determines whether you get to those promises, or not.
There is a major difference between having a map and a guide. A map can tell you the possible ways to get from one place to the other, but it does not always tell you the possible pitfalls, stalls, and roadblocks that may be in your way. A guide, on the other hand, knows the territory. He knows how to safely navigate through all the pitfalls that are on the path. A guide’s path may not be the shortest way to get to the destination, but it will be a secure way, and will often be the fastest, because it avoids unnecessary stops and slow-downs.
Most ministers must go through this desert time in order to fully step into their calling. I have been through that desert for many, many years. I have been through the fire, the storms, the dryness, and the exhaustion that the desert has to offer. One of my major calls is to help those who are in the desert, or maybe just starting their ministry journey, to get through the desert and to their full potential in Christ.
I definitely had friends and partners that helped me along the way, but what I could have used was a guide who had walked the same path before. Someone to show me where the oases were. Someone who could help me learn the lessons of the desert without the danger of quitting. Someone who would pull me through when the exhaustion, thirst, and pain were overwhelming.
This is part of my call—to be a desert guide!
Habakkuk Ministries 