The wilderness and the dry land [Waste Land] shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus [flower]; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing….They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God (Isaiah 35:1-2, ESV).
Golfers visiting Palm Springs or Phoenix for the first time are awestruck by the meticulously manicured golf courses set against a vast desert backdrop—unrivaled beauty in a sprawling “Waste Land!”
Jeffrey’s conversation with “Badds” just before the Waste Management Open reveals several vital themes, none more poignant than trusting the Lord’s sovereign plan while navigating the metaphorical desert of life.
In 1999, Aaron Baddeley won the Australian Open as an amateur, defeating Greg Norman by two strokes. Many years later, with eight victories to his name, he found himself on the “outside looking in.”
After winning four PGA events and four International titles, Aaron feared losing his card. His swing coach was straightforward in his assessment: “You are not trusting God’s plan for your life.”
The year 2015 had turned into a wilderness with no oasis in sight. Aaron had to admit that he was not “walking closely with Jesus.” By November, he had lost his card.
Aaron began seeking the Lord in the early mornings and came to terms with the reality that God truly controlled his destiny—he experienced a “peace that surpasses understanding.”
Followers of Jesus Christ often describe difficult seasons of life as “the wilderness.” Christians don’t pull this metaphor out of thin air; we see this “wilderness theme” throughout Scripture. In other words, this is not “make-believe;” this is how the world is structured.
For example, the first two verses of Genesis emphasize a wasteland: “…the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.” Yet, “…the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
In the opening act of Scripture, God transforms an uninhabitable, empty wasteland shrouded in darkness into a thriving garden. The Spirit of God is always hovering, intending to turn chaos into the cosmos.
If we skip a rock across Scripture, we see the Lord continually taking his people through a wasteland into a land “flowing with milk and honey.”
The Lord appoints Joseph to prepare the world for an unimaginable drought—a wasteland. Joseph guides his family and Egypt through the wilderness to a “renewed land.” In this, Joseph foreshadows Jesus!
The Lord leads Israel through the wilderness to the promised land for testing—they repeatedly fail! The Spirit leads Jesus, the True Israel, into the wilderness for testing—he triumphs mightily!
At a micro level, God teaches us to persevere during our personal wilderness seasons. Yet, at a macro level, God also teaches us something about the Cosmos—the universe at large!
The world exists “East of Eden,” in a land cursed, a wilderness (Genesis 3:17-19). Humanity’s history lies between the Fall of the First Adam and the return of the Last Adam, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:35-58), with Jesus’ first arrival midway through history.
In the aftermath of World War I, William Butler Yeats wrote a poem titled “The Second Coming.” In it, he writes, “Things fall apart, the center cannot hold; anarchy is loosed upon the world. The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned….”
We are a hundred years removed from Yeats’ description of the world—or are we? No matter how hard we try, we cannot heal our world. Yet, we are not without hope.
Jesus will return at the appointed time, bringing with him the promised land—a world free from sin, shame, heartbreak, sickness, and war (Romans 4:13; Hebrews 11:8-10, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
“All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again;” neither can all the world’s Princes, Prime Ministers, and Presidents heal the world’s brokenness!
Prayer: Come, Lord Jesus!