WHEN YOU’RE WAITING IN THE WILDERNESS

by gold Adjo - 22:00:00

Don’t you love it when everything in your life is great? I bet you do. I love the good times too, when everything goes according to plan and I understand my situation. I would love for life to be all smooth sailing but it’s not always so. There are times that you are thrust into a season of waiting or into the wilderness.

The wilderness season is a very difficult one that we all wish we never have to go through but have to sometimes. It sucks to be in a place where nothing makes sense because you just don’t know what to do to make things better. You pray, you fast and meditate on scripture but nothing seems to work from the physical stand point. Your situation doesn’t look any different after everything you try to do to make it better. You throw your hands in despair and want to give up because you don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. You don’t see the promises of God coming to pass in your life and then, doubt sets in.

You blame yourself for being the cause of your predicament. You begin to think that God is out to get you for something that you have done. You feel unworthy of His love and just want to give up.

Do you remember the life of David and Joseph? These two men understand what it means to be in the wilderness season when everything looks bleak and there is no hope. They know what it means to be forsaken and forgotten both figuratively and in reality.

David as a little boy had to live as a shepherd in the wilderness where nature was his companion. He had no friends but his sheep, the plants and wild animals. He could have been sad about it and complained about how neglected he felt but he didn’t. In the wilderness he was trained to become a warrior and a king. God used his season in the wilderness to mould his character and to bring him closer to Himself. In the wilderness, David learned to trust in God and not man. He had to be separated from people so that he would grow closer to God. The wilderness season was not punishment but a season of preparation. His training in the wilderness built his faith to a point where when all of Israel had forgotten their covenant with God, he hadn’t. He had seen the goodness of the Lord as he stayed out alone on the field tending to his flock. The wilderness trained him and grew his faith in God to the point where he could slay Goliath with just a sling and a stone. The wilderness taught him how to be a giant slayer.

The wilderness season taught him perseverance and honour. When Saul sought him to kill him, he persevered and didn’t despair because he knew that what God had purposed concerning his life would come to pass. He learned to honour authority because the wilderness taught him that God was in control of all things and that it is He who set up earthly authority. Therefore, when he had the opportunity to kill his enemy, Saul, he didn’t. He knew God would take care of dealing with Saul as He deemed fit.

David persevered and like Abraham trusted that God was able to accomplish that which He had promised. He knew delay wasn’t denial. The wilderness prepared him to be a great ruler and warrior. The wilderness taught him to revere God. The wilderness didn’t take away his joy but built him up and made him responsible. The wilderness caused him to rely on God and not on his own strength.

On the other hand, Joseph’s situation moved from worse to worst. He was sold to be a slave by his brothers, and when he had thought his situation was improving because, Potiphar had placed him in charge of his household; he was falsely accused and thrown into jail. He spent many years in prison without any hope of getting out.

In the prison (wilderness), his faith in God didn’t diminish. Yes, he must have struggled and doubted God sometimes but he didn’t give up. He grew closer to the Lord in fellowship and developed his spiritual gifts, interpretation of dreams and wisdom. He helped others despite his situation. He knew just like David and Abraham that God could be trusted absolutely. He knew that God never left His promises unfulfilled. In the end, the word of the Lord concerning his life did come to pass. He became a very powerful man.

You see, the wilderness is a place to mould and shape you to become who you truly are. It is a period of training and pruning. Waiting can be tough but it has so many benefits. Don’t give up on the promises of God concerning your life. Keep those promises you have discovered in His word and those given by prophecy because the vision is yet for an appointed time. All things will work out for your good in the end. Don’t be so cast down but trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding for He has plans to prosper you and give you an expected end. Stand firm on the word of God and don’t give up.