Joe and the Holy Spirit: The Desert

We're all familiar with Matthew's quote of the prophet Hosea, "Out of Egypt I called my son." (Mt. 2:15, Hos. 11:1). He very well could have said, "Out of the desert I called my son." Even though not all of Egypt was desert-like, in order to get from Egypt to Israel, one needed to pass through the desert wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. 

God sent the angel to Joe in the dream to "take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt..." and so it was Joe who "rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt", and again, it was Joe who led them back away from Egypt. It was Joe who led Jesus into the desert, a prefigurement of the time after Jesus was baptized and He "was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." (Mt. 4:1)

Throughout our lives, God calls us into spiritual deserts, when prayer feels dry and God seems distant. He does this in order to test the quality of our faith to see if we go to Him to feel good or because we love Him. But if we go into the desert not recognizing our identity as beloved children of the Father, we will not be able to withstand the temptations of the enemy. 

When we are in these desert periods of prayer, do we call on the Holy Spirit and Joe to lead us through it? Do we believe that they will provide for our needs? Do we trust that they will bring us out? Perhaps right now, you are in the desert. Call out to the Holy Spirit and Joe. They will journey through this time with you.