Some of the toughest seasons in life to get through are wilderness seasons. They’re brought on by different things that happen in our life. Sometimes we enter them shell shocked after our world has been rocked. You can’t really feel Godwin the wilderness, but you know He’s there. I’ve found myself simply going through the motions. I stand during worship, but words won’t come out. I hear the message, but nothing seems to resonate. I smile and shake hands, but feel disconnected. I try to pray, but my words fall flat. There’s no telling how long the season will last, but I’ve found that wilderness seasons are usually followed up by victory seasons.
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah had just called fire from heaven and proved God’s existence to the nation when Jezebel threatened his life. Verse 4 says, “Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die” (NLT). He fell asleep there from his depression, but was awakened by an angel who fed him. He laid back down and slept again until the angel did the same thing again. He then traveled forty days and nights deeper into the wilderness where he found a cave on Mount Sinai. God spoke and asked him what he was doing there. He needed to hear from God and know His power. He experienced an earthquake, a fire and a still, small voice. God sent him back into the wilderness with instructions to anoint a new king and to appoint a successor. In that moment, God took care of the future and his present. Some of his greatest miracles are in the chapters that follow.
Deuteronomy 2:7 says, “For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.” God never leaves us in wilderness seasons, and He provides for us while we’re there. I’ve learned that these seasons, while tough, have produced deeper roots in my faith. They caused me to dig down deep into God’s Word, to seek His presence and to depend on Him. I couldn’t always see Him in my wanderings in the wilderness, but when I look back, I see He never left my side. If you’re there now, keep being desperate for God to answer. It may not be big and grandiose like you want. It’s often in the still, small voice and in subtle ways. God has a purpose for wilderness seasons. Don’t rush through them. A victorious season is just ahead.
Photo by Monica Valls on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 