David was a hunted man. He often had to hide in severe wilderness conditions from his pursuers, who would kill him in an instant if they found him, just like many persecuted people groups today.

Harriet Tubman had to hide from her enemies as she guided slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad during the American Civil War. Her stories sound a lot like David’s; she, too, was a mystic because she heard the voice of God, trusted it completely, and followed him through many dangers: “’Twasn’t me, ’twas the Lord! I always told Him, ‘I trust you. I don’t know where to go or what to do, but I expect you to lead me,’ an’ He always did.”

In times of desolation, David turned to God with all his heart and found him to be his true refuge before anything in his circumstances changed:

O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself.
(Psalm 63:1–3, emphasis added)

The mystic can access God anywhere; this is very good news. This was the secret of the beautiful life of Brother Lawrence, known for his book The Practice of the Presence of God:

I cannot imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of God. For my part I keep myself retired with Him in the depth of the centre of my soul as much as I can; and while I am so with Him I fear nothing; but the least turning from Him is insupportable.

The maturing mystic is not satisfied with anything short of union with Christ. This is what our humanity was made for and this is what Christ invites us into: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me” (John 17:22). “Then they’ll be mature in this oneness” (John 17:23 The Message).

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Encountering God in Desolation