I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

I recently heard the admonition, “Don’t waste your wilderness.” What does that even mean? “Waste” it? My first reaction was Good Gravy! I’m just trying to crawl through the wilderness intact, dodging scorpions, keeping my footing in the shifting sands, much less trying to get something out of it.

However, something about this phrase resonates with me. On further consideration, I kind of like this reproof to not waste these hardship experiences. They are inevitable, we all will face brutal periods, so why NOT use them to grow? To lean into what God may be doing in our lives. To look to him to recalibrate, and ensure that those painful times are not for naught?

The wilderness can be a time of testing, trying, and training. The wilderness can be a time to remove us from our comfort zones and expose our hearts. It can also be a time to strengthen obedience and prepare ourselves to cross over to the promised land.

It can be a time of loneliness.

The enemy tries to twist our wilderness wanderings, to convince us that God has given up on us while we’re in the badlands, that he has removed his righteous right hand and we are no longer under his protection.

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All the more reason to cry out to God! To petition God as David did when he was in the wilderness… You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

The enemy likes to convince us that our wilderness struggles will never end, an incessant fight without an oasis in sight. That we will never overcome the barrier/hardship/breakdown of a relationship/diagnosis…fill in your own blank.

When the Hebrews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, did God leave them high and dry? Did he say “See, ya” to the Hebrews, “you’re on your own, good luck with that!” No! He walked with them for every one of those 40 years, provided bread and meat for them every single morning and every single night. He made sure that their clothing and shoes didn’t wear out. And he protected them with a fire by night and a cloud by day. The whole time they were in the wilderness, he never left them.

A FAITHFUL RESPONSE

Lord, hear my prayer! In Your faithfulness listen to my plea, and in Your righteousness answer me! When I cry out to you, God, where are you during these wilderness times? Are you even there? It reminds me of an expression that my friend uses, “We never fail God’s tests, but we keep taking them until we pass.” Ouch! Does this mean that I can spend less time in the wilderness if I’m more obedient and teachable? And then another friend has a corollary to that expression, “When you are going through difficulty and wonder where God is, remember that the teacher is always quiet during the test.”

Lord, help us to cling always to the comforting fact that no matter the test, no matter our perceptions, You are always with us and for us. Please help us not to waste our wilderness experiences but to use them instead to bring us ever closer to You. Amen.

In WILDERNESS, by Melissa Carey, be encouraged that whatever you're going thorough, you don't have to do it alone. The God of Creation is standing by to jump in and bless you. Share on X