Following Jesus doesn’t always lead to green pastures. Sometimes, He takes you into the wilderness; not to harm you, but to shape you. And if you let Him, that season will change you forever.
If you truly follow God, don’t be surprised if He leads you into a season of wilderness. It might feel barren. It might stretch far longer than you planned. For Israel, it was forty years (Numbers 14:33–34). For you, it might be months, years, or even decades. But the wilderness is not wasted space. It is God’s training ground.
In the wilderness, you learn that bread alone will not sustain you, but every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4). In the wilderness, idols are stripped away and the noise of the world fades, leaving you with a clear view of who God is and who you are before Him. In the wilderness, you discover that the God who parted the Red Sea is the same God who drops daily manna and makes water flow from the rock (Exodus 16:4; Exodus 17:6).
We often think of the wilderness as a punishment, but for the believer, it is often a gift. It is the place where self-sufficiency dies, where trust in God deepens, and where you learn that His presence is better than comfort (Psalm 63:1–5). It is where faith stops being theory and becomes the oxygen you breathe (2 Corinthians 5:7).
The wilderness teaches dependence. God told Israel that He led them through the desert “to humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart” (Deuteronomy 8:2). And when we follow Christ, the wilderness may not be optional…but it is good. Because when the forty years end, you will enter the Promised Land with a heart that knows the God who brought you there (Joshua 21:45).
So if you find yourself in the wilderness today, remember: this is not the end of your story. It is the place where God is shaping you, refining you, and preparing you for what is next. The same God who leads you in will be faithful to lead you out. And when you come out, you will know Him more deeply than you ever imagined.
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