Have you ever found yourself in a dark, deserted and desolate place?

Maybe it’s because you are going through hard times or a loss.  Or maybe it’s just a dark season that you find yourself in and you don’t understand why.  Or it could be that you are healing from an old wound that needs tending to.

The list of deserted places in this world is endless.

Even though it stinks to experience difficulty, we all have them from time to time.  It’s during those times that we have to focus on the problem solver…not the problem.

For example, I happen to be going through a sort of trial lately.  I won’t get into specifics, but it’s just a dismal time in my life and I haven’t quite figured out how to get out of it.

Regardless of how I got here or how I’m going to move past it, I’m working very hard to lean on God through it and to also PRAISE HIM right now.

Praising God in our dark times is just as critical and necessary as praising Him through our joyful moments!!

A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalms 100:1-5

So many times we praise God when things are going our way, but what about these bleak times?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard to be joyful in my praise when I’m feeling down in the dumps, but it’s so much better when I do.  In fact, when we cry out for God’s mercy, comfort and restoration…we will at some point be delivered from our pain.

Thank you, God!!!

That doesn’t mean that God will deliver us immediately.  Sigh.

So, we must do the work necessary during the dark times to help us move past the mess we find ourselves in and onto the purposeful living God intends us to do.

Unfortunately, life can’t be all hearts and flowers even when that is what we’d really like it to be.   However, when we can’t change the circumstances we are in, we have to change our perspective about the place we are currently residing.

Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure…. Psalm 147:1-20

Instead of worrying about the desert we are traveling through, we have to wonder what lessons can be learned and who we can help along the way.  The dark places don’t have to be a waste of time.  They can be just what we need to make it to the next beautiful place in our life.

It’s okay to be in a desolate place, but while we are there we should still praise God and trust in Him!!  He loves us enough to sacrifice His only son…he definitely loves us enough to heal our brokenness!!

Are you traveling through the desert?

Some Wisdom for Today:  Proverbs 24:27 – Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.