"Word in the Desert"

Prowlin’ open country,

Lookin’ close through brushy draws,

Hearin’ little but the desert wind,

And sometimes the raven’s caws.

Time to think and ponder,

Lookin’ through my horse’s ears,

Listenin’ to the desert,

Mighty quiet way out here.

And the Good Book says the desert,

Was a place where men met God,

Far from farm and plows and such,

Where they wet the furrowed sod.

Where arid ground and skyscape meet,

And the vastness of the space,

Rhythmic seasons slowly turn,

Apart from pavement’s race.

So I lean whoa in my saddle,

Push my hat back on my head,

And remember by the Spirit,

Strong words the Lord has said.

You will not live by bread alone,

But by the words I speak,

Relieve you of the fears you feel,

And give you strength when weak.

And then the Word I’m aching for,

Without knowing that I was,

I will be your Advocate,

Important so because,

Seems no one spoke up for me,

Like I always hoped they would,

But with Jesus you need no one else,

And if you don’t know, you should.

Coming off the desert now,

A new song in my breast,

Burning there because the Word,

Is God’s highest and His best.

Spoken straight into my heart,

So clearly heard you see,

I know it was the Spirit’s voice,

And not my own or me.

So get out to that quiet place,

It’s there you need to go,

Perhaps the Lord is waiting,

To speak, you never know.

“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.” (1 John 2:1, NLT)

God hates sin but loves sinners. He does not want us to sin, but if and when we do, He wants us to know that Jesus’ sacrifice makes Him the perfect advocate. Jesus pleads our case, which is that we have received the cleansing of Jesus’ blood. He has made us right with God by pardoning all our sins. We now have full access to the Father in Jesus’ name, and with Him as advocate we need no other. It’s good to know.

Lord, make us certain that You are our Advocate, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Robert “Shoofly” Shufelt, used by permission. Thanks, Robert, and God bless you.