BLOG Post: The Four-Minute Read
Desert or desert. One word—two meanings.
A desert is a barren, arid landscape marked by extremes: scorching heat by day, biting cold at night, and very little rain. It’s a place where survival is hard-fought. Think of the Sahara in northern Africa, the Gobi stretching across China and Mongolia, or the Atacama in Chile—the driest place on Earth.
Deserts can be dangerous, yet they also serve as places of transformation. Dr. Luke writes, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” For Jesus, the desert was not just a physical space—it was a crucible. A place of challenge, of testing, of revelation. A place where something within him was refined, Jesus returned to the public place ‘full of the power of the Spirit.’ (Luke 4:14)
The second meaning of desert—as a verb—is to abandon: to walk away from someone, something, or some responsibility. To leave behind what perhaps once mattered. To be deserted is to feel forgotten, alone, isolated.
Both meanings speak to the same experience in different ways: being in a place of absence. A place stripped of comfort, familiarity, or connection.
What do they mean to you?
Maybe you find yourself in a desert season of life right now—emotionally, spiritually, or relationally. Perhaps you’ve been deserted by someone, or feel as though life has left you in an empty, barren place.
But remember: deserts, though difficult, are not purposeless. Many who walk through them emerge changed. Stronger. Wiser. More aware of what truly matters.
The desert may not be the end of your story—it might just be the beginning of something deeper.
This year the fruit tree orchards are laden with apples, damsons, pears and plums, the hedgerows in the country lanes are laden with blackberries and the hazelnut trees have been cropping well, keeping the squirrels happy! Right now, the UK countryside is anything but a desert.
Interestingly, add just one letter to ‘desert’ and you get ‘dessert’ – a symbol of sweetness and joy. Just as one letter can transform ‘desert’ into ‘dessert, the presence of Jesus – our saviour – transforms the dry, barren places of our lives into places of sweetness and renewal.
When you are experiencing the desert, very often you think that you have been abandoned and alone but Jesus is there with us, he has promised that; ‘I will never leave or forsake you.’ First stated in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 31:6 and reiterated in the New Testament in Hebrews 13:5, assuring believers of His constant presence and unwavering support in all circumstance.
Reading the Gospels, we see that Jesus loved eating with friends. I am not sure if pumpkin or apple pie was a thing when Jesus was around but I am sure that he would have loved a good dessert.
But be encouraged: we have been invited to a heavenly banquet, the wedding supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19:9 and the Psalmist in 23:5 says; ‘you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.’
This is something to look forward too.
Here is a reminder: We might find ourselves in a desert or feel we have been deserted.
But keep the faith, keep holding on and know the presence of Christ in your life. He wants you to experience the sweetness of his presence even in the toughest of moments because the desert may not be the end of your story—it might just be the beginning of something deeper.
