The only reason that he invites us into the desert is so that we will be removed from the busy distractions of life long enough to pay attention to this deep longing - this longing for God. As we do, as we are reunited in communion and fellowship with God, He always sends us out of the desert back into our mission in the busy world. The first thing is to not try to get out of it too quickly. Well, we're always bungling and messing things up as people. But the desert is something different.
Nobody intends to go into the desert-nobody wants to go there.
When you're in it, you're only there by the terrifying invitation of God. And when you find that you're in this spiritual dry place, the greatest temptation is to get busy-to try to talk your way out of it, or to Bible study your way out of it, or to get into more praise groups, or to get into a new mission program. I think that's a deadly mistake. It's best to first pay attention to this longing and wait for the Spirit of God to reunite you to your true Savior. This waiting period is a maddening period for people because it always takes too long.