Here is today’s Bible reading: Numbers 22:21-23:30; Luke 1:57-80; Psalm 58:1-11; Proverbs 11:12-13.

Luke 1:80 (NIV)
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.

The desert–the place where God takes us to prepare us for ministry.  Moses went there.  Even Jesus went there.  Here, John the Baptist takes His turn.  The desert is the place of solitude where God strips away everything else so we learn to be sustained by Him alone.  Until we go to the desert, we will always seek lesser things and receive lesser results.  The desert is painful, but it is a rich blessing.  Our tendency is to want to avoid the desert and its discomfort.  But the call is to embrace it and surrender to the deep work of preparation God is doing in our lives.