Do you feel lonely, sad, and confused?
Are you struggling to see why the Lord is allowing things to happen in your life?
Have you found yourself shouting, “God, where are you? What are you doing?”
If you answered yes to any of these, you may be walking through your own spiritual wilderness. Welcome! Know that you are not alone, but actually in good company.
I have found myself in a wilderness of my own for about a week now so I feel your pain. The Lord is revealing so many incredible truths to me about this time and I feel I should share their encouragement.
Why must we go through the wilderness?
Many believe the reason the Israelites wandered in the wilderness was for punishment.
But I don’t actually think this is entirely true.
Given the distance between Egypt and Canaan it really only should have taken them about 11 days to get to the Promised Land. I think the Lord was intentional in leading the Israelites into the wilderness for a time. It was their selfishness, lust, and rebellion that prolonged their wilderness experience to 40 years.
We see in Exodus 15 that Miriam the Prophet, Aaron’s sister led her people in praising the Lord for delivering them from the enemy. The Israelites were overjoyed by the miraculous power and faithfulness of their Lord in leading them out of Egypt.
Three days later when clean water began to run low, the Israelites somehow forgot all the Lord had done and thus began complaining.
THREE DAYS.
It only took three days for the Israelites to lose sight on what the Lord was doing and get off track.
Why?
So far the Lord had shown up through protection, provision, and guidance in their lives. They couldn’t see His work in their lives currently so they then made assumptions that He abandoned them.
But why did the Lord lead them into the wilderness in the first place?
The wilderness was the only path to the Promised Land.
I think the purpose of the wilderness was preparation.
God led them into the wilderness to test, train, and prepare them to be sanctified warriors as they claimed the Promised Land.
But their ignorance of God’s nature and character led them to rebel against Him, and what should have been a short wilderness journey became a lifetime experience.
The wilderness you are walking through is nothing negative. It’s a sure sign that the Lord is preparing you for a new move of His Spirit in your life. This season is just a path to what the Lord has next for you.
With the understanding of your wilderness you can enter into this joy of knowing a “promised land” awaits the other side. This joy will be a vision set for you that will provide the strength you need to finish the journey.
So what is the Lord preparing you for in this season of the wilderness? He has a perfect plan for your life. He did not lead you into this season by mistake.
