The Texas Desert

Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. (Psalm 22:11-15 ESV).

 

It only takes a visit to Guadalupe Mountains National Park to be vividly reminded that not all of the West was won and an illustration of why that’s a very good thing. The untamed West in all its cranky, craggy, dusty, arid majesty seems to have been frozen in amber in this park, a windswept wedge of 86,000 acres of West Texas mountain desert on the border with New Mexico. The park is a repository of Texas superlatives that even most Texans are not aware of: the state’s highest point, Guadalupe Peak, at a challenging but climbable 8,749 feet; what is commonly referred to as its most beautiful single spot, postcard-picturesque McKittrick Canyon; and one of the most striking geological formations anywhere, an imposing slab of limestone known (like its more famous granite cousin at Yosemite National Park) as El Capitan.

 

Like the rest of Texas, Guadalupe Mountains National Park is another reminder of the diversity in the geography. The sandy desert landscape leading to the heights of the mountains is beautiful. However, the sandy beaches of the Gulf and the lakeshores dotted throughout the state have an incredible beauty about them. This is no less true of the other areas of sandy vistas in our nation. Blowing winds tease beach sand into blond dunes and pale valleys. Even the loneliest desert has austere beauty; absence paints its own splendor.

 

The psalmist cries out differently in our reading today. The absence of God is never beautiful. It is the final death. Our psalmist cries out, asking God to come and find him. In effect, the psalmist says, “Without your help I will die in this wilderness.” We may have felt like that at times of difficulty in our lives. I would remind you that God is never too far away to hear a call for help. God will come to the rescue. Our hope rests in God’s unseen presence. God’s strength will compensate for our weakness; God’s comfort will soothe our afflicted hearts.

 

Our stories of the desert and the dirt are ones we don’t want to tell. We’d rather share news of our victories and daring deeds crowned with success. Yet the psalmist reminds us that our worst moments and greatest weaknesses reveal God’s strength and faithfulness best. Trust in that strength!