Zion Canyon Prayer

 Zion Canyon Prayer

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy....
 But only the redeemed will walk there,
¹⁰     and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
 Isaiah 35

Lent is a desert season; a time of fasting where we look inward, taking inventory of our sins and with pure hearts submit our act of contrition to Christ.  This desert time often comes with doubt and despair as we wander suffocating in the forsaken land of human error - plagued by the burdens and worries of the world.  We find ourselves complaining about lack in desert times.  We clutch our fear and demand water to quench our thirst.  We lose foresight and perception of trust in God's divine will.  If God brings you to a trial, forced to traverse the narrow canyons of dry wash out creek beds and vast expanses of salt earth prairie and towering mountains with no way out - instead of saying:

God, Holy Spirit - guide me through this and help me to perceive your will in gladness of heart in this trial for you will not forsake me...

Most of us, whether we like to admit it or not fail to trust God in these periods of life - we start complaining and idealize the past - like Lot's wife we stuck - the past is the past and if you try to turn back and open doors God has closed - you will be stuck, unable to move forward and fulfill God's plan for us. 

A year ago I was in Zion National Park - it is one of the most breathtaking places I have ever stepped foot on - I truly believe it, like Yellowstone and other natural wonders, is a living testament to the majesty of God's loving care and his artistic work as a CREATOR.  Zion is a place of extremes - it is a desert - in a the midst of a plateau - in spite of the dry desert air - life abounds in Zion fueled by The Virgin River - a river so small at first glance it appears as a creek.  How can life be so vibrant in this desert land - countless Indian tribes lived on this land and learned to respect and find gratitude for Zion's resources - sometimes the extreme climate forced them migrant - but they returned to the desert understanding that even in the midst of this land's desperate hardship - there is peace and abundance.  The spirit of joy and hope can be felt in this paradise of stone and rock.  It took eons of desperate wandering and painful uplift to transform Zion into the awe-inspiring place it is today.  Erosion, uplift and earthquakes, rock slides, monsoons and drought define the land and also carved it into a place only God's eyes could have envisioned.  It took the tiny Virgin River's persistence, cutting and carving, flooding and drying up - the tears of the river spring life abundant into dry places.

Such is the will of God.  Our Father does not use easy roads to accomplish his mission, he is willing to take the hard path because it strengthens his WORD and helps to exact justice, truth, light and love in this world - you cannot gain endurance by walking on flat land, we need to cross deserts so we are humbled to trust only on God's will.  God gives us the gift of resilience and being self-reliant  - at times God shouts for us to wake up and take action on our own - to have faith to just act (I feared moving because of change - when God was actively calling me to move onto another situation - it took the situation hitting rock bottom for me to wake up smell the coffee and take action). 

In the journey out of Egypt - God chose the desert road because it was actually the safest road.  Many tribes and obstacles lay on the so-called easier path - by wandering in the desert God could keep HIS people in HIS care and help them to journey in safety to the Promised Land.  God provided the Israelites with manna and ensured their needs were met...in spite of all of God's miracles they wanted to go back to a life of slavery - a life in Egypt.

From a psychology point - we can all get dependent on the world - our flesh is weak, God makes our spirit strong.  When we are slaves to the world we starve after perishable food that breaks the back and makes us hunger in envy and jealousy - even when the world turns its back on us we are so conditioned to rely on the material ways of the world - we try to fix things ourselves - instead of trusting God to guide us.  So part of the desert experience is God's love testing us and helping us to release the cycle of dependence on the world so we may be reliant on him.  Self-reliance actually comes from full faith and assurance in God - when we lend on the brokenness of the world we are left with bitter water.  God turns bitter water sweet and in his spirit we will thirst no more.

I speak a lot about desert times because the bible has a recurring theme of barrenness - barren land, barren wombs, barren lives...we all face these obstacles.  I have lost my financial security and for so long I tried to restore it by going back to the people who took my home and cursed my name because I wanted to mend the fractured relationship.  Each time I was let down and I fell into despair.  I did not doubt God's salvation, but I could not understand how Christ would not answer my prayer - and give me justice and peace.  It took really going through this desert time and filtering out the rage and the anger and thirsting for the world's justice, that I found peace in turning over the anger to God and trusting Christ to be my shield, my provider and protector.  Christ does not fail.  Though we may question his GPS directions - if we lean on Christ for understanding and submit to his will our path will be straight.

During our trip in Zion I had a panic attack about our budget because I have such a fear of not having enough to eat and all the other issues of day to day life.  I had experienced the wonders of God's creation, yet in the shadow of Watchman I started crying - I argued and lamented the situation...I let fear deprive me of the blessings surrounding me.  We all do this - and Christ understands.  While we may have real cause to worry - worry solves nothing - it is the worst dividend in the universe.  Rather be GRATEFUL for all the love surrounding you - even when you are alone and forsaken by the world - tempted by the devil - God is before you, Christ is beside you and the Holy Spirit is within you - YOU Shall NOT be MOVED - rather the will of God will take your burdens guiding you in a way out of the fear and doubt.  Often times we may push back or flat out refuse the gifts God gives us because we want 'cucumbers' instead of manna.  In Lent look to God's love and the provision of Christ in the discernment of the Holy Spirit for all your needs - do not lose sight of the cross and life in the cross for a short-sighted detour.  God will bring you back the lost, but his way is always the most direct - even if it seems like a long road home.

In scripture God constantly brings his servants into desert times: Abraham and Sarah (fleeing to Egypt because of famine, Hagar...); Jacob's flight to Laban, Joseph's exile in Egypt, Elijah, Jeremiah, the exile of the Jews in Babylon...there are so many desert times.

Jesus suffered many 'desert' times - when you think - why did he as the son of the Father - god incarnate have to endure lack and suffering - Christ knows our burdens and wants to help - he helps us learn in suffering (free will prevents some healing in the world - but Christ never abandons his own - trust even in death you are saved)

Matthew 4

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted^[a] by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^[b]”

Look to Jesus and his sojourn in the desert - he desperately thirsted and hungered and struggled with lack - yet he turned that lack into gratitude of faith that Our Father would sustain Him.  He refused all the offers of the devil - who promised the world - Christ in his human state still held close to the Father - We often put this off as 'oh Jesus was God, so he could handle it,' - Jesus is God, but He was also man and felt the burdens we face and the power of temptation - he turned temptation over to the Father and trusted Our Father in Heaven to keep him and guide Him, even if that mean thirst and hunger - because the spirit of God provides abundant life to all who seek HIS love even in desert times.  Be patient, be grateful for the resilience God provides, be grateful Christ is with you and remember His suffering.  All is well. 

Praise be to God.

Prayer:
Oh Zion, canyon of wonders, where life bursts in the desert, the cacti bloom and the heart of the narrows floods in the everliving waters of your kingdom on earth.  In floods and monsoon you release the skies and the earth quakes, still you use this destroying power for good as the waters fill the earth and the dry land is quenched and the mountains echo in your love and light.  The darkness is deep here - so human eyes may pray on your stars and know that you bring light into the universe.  Nothing is too great for your hands - you created the galaxies and stirred the Virgin River to wander.  You are an architect, a carpenter who builds strong foundations.  Your work is perfect and in perfection we find patience in your example.  You are God!  You could merely breathe the words Zion and the whole of this heavenly land could be created, but you used your hands, you used your imagination and will and might with the elements of nature to create this space and we are grateful stewards in its wonder and protection.  Bless us God and help us always follow the example of Zion and the desert blessings   - you bring water to dry places so our souls thirst no more.  Teach us to care for the land and heal the land so it can provide for us by your will, in YOUR NAME.  Praise be to Father, Son and Holy Ghost in the spirit of Zion and all of your creation.  World without end.  Amen.