Years ago, my family and I went to the Southwest. Among our stops were Albuquerque, Santa Fe, the Grand Canyon, and Sedona. Each of these areas had beautiful landscapes that made them unique. It was truly breathtaking. We also visited the Petrified Forest. However, at first glance, it didn’t have much to offer. It probably didn’t help that we went on a cloudy day, and we could see dust storms in the distance. But here’s the thing: the Petrified Forest is located in the northeastern portion of the Painted Desert. Seemingly two different “stories” co-existing…
The Petrified Forest tells the story of trees that lived centuries ago, now perfectly preserved in this natural museum. The Painted Desert showcases a narrative of beauty in the “hidden” parts of Creation, as the Lord wove beautiful colors even into the sedimentary layers of the earth. The Painted Desert now reveals this ethereal scene due to harsher elements. Although the petrified artifacts are mostly grayish white, the beautiful backdrop of the Painted Desert, with its vibrant-colored hills of sediment featuring reds, oranges, and purples, makes a spectacular contrast, allowing them to stand out all the more!
There seems to be a metaphor here to help understand what God is trying to teach us when we find ourselves in desert seasons - in the wilderness.
At face value, our time in the desert feels dry and empty of any color. We can feel hopeless. The dust storms of life cloud our wilderness, blocking us from seeing any “color”- joy in the season despite it. Some may feel they have stopped hearing from God. Others may turn away from God.
But God, through the elements of your desert time, is trying to expose the beautiful “colors” He wove into your spirit. As He works His love in and through the wilderness experience, the Lord brings about a renewed spark of reliance on Him, enabling you to see what was petrified in your life against the backdrop of the Lord working to bring new life back into those areas that needed change.
It is through this time in the wilderness that the Lord brings beauty from ashes. From your lowest lows comes your highest joys.
Let’s break down even further what God teaches us in the wilderness.
"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands". Deuteronomy 8:2-3
Time of Humbling
Therefore, to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12: 7b-9
As Believers, we might spend many years in a wilderness season or it might just be for a short time of teaching…
I experienced one of those short, humbling times in the desert when I was going to speak in front of 40 women, sharing an Easter devotion. Let’s say I am not a natural-born speaker by ANY stretch. I am unapologetic about this. For this event, I decided to try index cards with talking points, since I was going to share a lesson from my own lived experience that translated beautifully into an Easter devotional. Since it was my story, I knew it quite well…
Two days before the event, I came down with a cold that affected my voice, and I felt miserable. I was already nervous about how I would appear before the women, and now this. (Notice my focus. More concerned about how I would be perceived than bringing glory to God.) The morning of, I had no choice but to depend on the Lord for EVERYTHING: my anxiety, my voice, my memory, my cough, ALL of it.
The Lord allowed this cold to come in His perfect timing for the purpose of humbling me to depend on Him and Him alone. And I did just that. As I began to speak, it felt like an out-of-body experience. The Lord used this very humbling experience not only to bring glory to Himself, but also to make the women even more receptive to what I shared because of the humility with which it was delivered. All Glory to God.
Sometimes we may find ourselves in the wilderness at the most inopportune time. It is then that we need to ask ourselves: Is there something in me that is more focused on my performance than on God’s glory? It is in this particular desert that you will see God work in amazing ways through you. That lesson will then bolster your faith and remind you to stay humble.
God’s purpose for the wilderness, although corrective at times, has love as its motive. Your reward is seeing God at work in and through you, strengthening you in every way.
Checking Your Heart
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” Hebrews 3:7-11
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her". Hosea 2:14
Wilderness seasons are hard. Why else would it be referred to as the wilderness or desert? When things don’t go the way we had hoped, it's natural to feel discouraged or even resentful. Sadly, many of us take that resentment so far that we turn away from the Lord and blame Him for “turning His back” on us because we are suffering. As a result, we won’t enter His rest. I don’t mean in an eternal sense, but we indeed won’t find peace in the desert if we are not relying on the Lord and believing in His goodness for our circumstances.
There are two ways to look at this type of wilderness. Sometimes it is to test our devotion to the Lord. To see how quickly we turn away from Him, or if we even do. Indeed, the story of Job describes an epic desert test. So much so that his wife encouraged him to “curse God”. But Job never did. Was he frustrated? ABSOLUTELY! And that’s okay. But what’s not okay is allowing our frustration to change into bitterness toward God. Because then we will miss the true lesson of our time in the desert which is God’s love…
Hosea beautifully describes the Lord's desire to call the Israelites back to Himself by bringing them into the wilderness, where He would show His love through provision and protection. "Yet the LORD says, 'During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet'" Deuteronomy 29:5
When we find ourselves in a difficult season, whether it be emotional, financial, or relational, God will continually provide for us, JUST like He did for the Israelites. The Lord will make sure your basic needs are met, specific to your wilderness. Even if it's only provided daily, like the manna for the Israelites, God is showing His love and protection. He will never leave you or forsake you.
Putting Trust to the Test
"Thus says the Lord: 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness...'" Jeremiah 17:5-6
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2
As humans, we definitely have a built-in self-preservation mode. In times of danger, when quick thinking is needed, that would be extremely helpful, even life-saving. But the rub comes when self-preserving morphs into self-serving, which could land us in the “parched places of the wilderness”.
Having just come off of January, many of us have probably set goals or intentions for the year. Some may have put together a vision board, complete with pictures of those things they would like to do or accomplish in the coming months. There is nothing wrong with having dreams and setting goals, but as Believers, those goals must be rooted in Jesus. Otherwise, they may fall into the self-serving category of trusting in our own abilities to accomplish them. "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring". Proverbs 27:1 “Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.' James 4:15
Sometimes the Lord will allow a wilderness season to redirect our steps if they are leading farther away from Him. How loving is that?! God loves us so much that He wants to spend time with us in every way. The Lord does not do this to control what we do, but to keep us near under His protective wings.
It is in the wilderness that our self-preservation might be triggered, leading us to think we are in danger and that we need to trust ourselves. We must remember instead to “trust in the Lord with our whole hearts and lean not on our own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5-6 The sooner we begin to trust and rely on the Lord wholly, the sooner our perspectives will change. God might not
change our circumstances, BUT by changing the lens from which we view the desert, we may now see the “beautiful colors” rather than the “petrified wood”.
Father, thank you, Lord, that you redeem everything, ESPECIALLY our time in the wilderness.
If you are currently in the wilderness, what do you now see that He is teaching you? What wilderness lesson resonated the most with you?
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/ Jordan Siemens
