The Beauty of the Desert

“Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.

-Hosea 2:14

I just got back from the New Mexico desert, and I was struck by the beauty there. I have always heard this verse as a time in the desert to be endured. I read the desert as a place of barrenness, a place where the focus would be on Israel and God, because there sure wasn’t much else to do in the desert.

Having just spent a few days there, however, I was shocked to find that the desert can be an actual place of beauty, a destination in and unto itself. There were flowers blooming, resilient under the baking sun. There were cacti with bright colors, birds, animals, and all kinds of plant life. The sky was the most brilliant blue, and a fresh wind blew across the landscape, adding a sense of clean beginning to our hike through the mountains.

It made me see this verse in Hosea in a new light. What beauty can be found in desert places? Perhaps God is leading you through a time of barrenness. What else might be present in those moments? Once I realized there was beauty in the desert, my trials took on a new meaning to me. I haven’t yet left the desert season of my life, but understanding the presence of beauty even in the midst of the desert has helped me reframe my current situation. God has allured me here to spend time with me, and as He usually does, He chose a place of beauty to do so. That makes me feel humbled and grateful.

What desert season are you currently going through? Pray for God to reveal to you what beauty might be found in its midst.