Times in the Wilderness

Going Through a Spiritually Dry Time

One of the most desolate areas in the world is the Namib Desert which stretches over 1200 miles along the coast of Namibia. It receives less than two inches of rainfall a year. The area contains only sparse vegetation and few people. There are times in our Christian walk when we have to go through a spiritual desert. It seems there are few showers of blessings and our soul feels parched and dried out. But as we will see from this study, God uses times in the wilderness to help us to grow in our faith and prepare for the work to which we have all been called.

None of us like going through a wilderness time of waiting for God’s deliverance. We are very impatient. And yet God wants us to learn how to wait on him.

Waiting

Waiting for a phone call frets him,

Waiting on his wife upsets him.

Almost any kind of waiting

Starts his temper activating.

But he’s the guy who finds delight

Waiting for the fish to bite!

I want to examine the lives of six men from the Bible who had to go through a wilderness experience before beginning the ministry to which God had called them. Each one of these six had to go through the time of difficulty for a purpose. We also go through times in the wilderness. We need to realize that God is preparing us during those times.

Jesus -- Luke 4:1-2

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

Immediately after being baptized, Jesus was led into the desert 40 days before beginning his ministry. Even the son of God had to spend time in the wilderness. It was important that Jesus was tested and spiritually strengthened through these 40 days.

Barnes comments, “When the first Adam was created he was subjected to the temptation of the devil, and he fell and involved the race in ruin: it was not improper that the second Adam -- the Redeemer of the race -- should be subjected to temptation, in order that it might be seen that there was no power that could alienate him from God; that there was a kind and a degree of holiness which no art or power could estrange from allegiance.”

We sometimes have to go through dark times to test our faith and strengthen our commitment to God. This could not have been a pleasant time for Jesus. If you are going through a difficult time, try to learn what God is trying to teach you.

Moses -- Acts 7:29-30

When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.

Moses had been raised in a royal palace. When it came time for him to identify with his Hebrew brothers, he acted impulsively. He needed to spend time in the wilderness to mature and to learn how to deal with people who were not raised in riches. During these forty years, Moses learned how to deal with shepherds. Since the nation of Israel was a nation of shepherds, this was extremely important.

Sometimes God has us spend time in preparation. There may have been times when Moses felt he was wasting his life on the back side of the desert, but God had a plan for him. He needed to learn how to deal with the everyday occurrences of normal life. Perhaps you feel like your life is being wasted. Remember, that even during those times in the wilderness God is teaching and preparing our hearts.

There is an interesting Aesop’s Fable called The Traveler and the Plane-Tree, “Two Travelers, worn out by the heat of the summer’s sun, laid themselves down at noon under the widespreading branches of a Plane-Tree. As they rested under its shade, one of the Travelers said to the other, ‘What a singularly useless tree is the Plane! It bears no fruit, and is not of the least service to man.’ The Plane-Tree, interrupting him, said, ‘You ungrateful fellows! Do you, while receiving benefits from me and resting under my shade, dare to describe me as useless, and unprofitable’?”

You may feel that what God is taking you through is useless and unprofitable. But there is benefit that you just can’t see or understand yet. If you are willing to place your full trust in God, you will discover that it is during those times that seemed the least important that God was preparing you for his work.

Joseph -- Genesis 39:20-23

Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

God was going to use Joseph to administer to the entire nation of Egypt. But first, it was necessary for Joseph to learn gifts of administration. What did God do? He threw Joseph in prison. How discouraging this must have been for Joseph. He was there at least two years and maybe more. He could have become despondent and given up all hope. But instead he tried to do a good job. Little did he know what God had in store for him.

Barnes writes, “An uncomplaining patience and an unhesitating hopefulness keep the breast of Joseph in calm tranquility. There is a God above, and that God is with him. His soul swerves not from this feeling.”

It is because Joseph was in the prison that the cupbearer would later remember him to Pharaoh. It is because Joseph was in prison that he learned the skills to be able to administer the grain storage for the king. It was because Joseph was in prison that he was able to spare his family from the famine. You may feel like you are in a prison, either trapped in a situation or relationship, or you may feel like you are in an emotional prison. Remember, that God used that time in prison so that Joseph could learn the skills he needed to minister to a nation and to his family! Perhaps God is using your prison too.

David -- 1 Samuel 23:13-17

So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there. David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.”

David was hiding out in the desert of Ziph. Saul was seeking his life. He knew God had promised that he would be the next king of Israel, but here he was being treated like a common criminal. It was during this time that he learned mercy from Saul’s son, Jonathan. Even though Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne, he was willing to give it up to fulfill God’s plan for David’s life. From this desert experience, David learned forgiveness and mercy which would be necessary for the future king of Israel.

Do you feel like you have been chased into a desert? Perhaps God wants you to learn mercy and forgiveness. Forgiveness is never learned when everything is going great and no one wrongs us. Mercy can only be learned and practiced when we have been harmed. Perhaps God has allowed you to go through a time in the wilderness so that you can learn to forgive others.

Jephthah -- Judges 11:3-6

So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him. Some time later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.”

Jephthah was a great warrior, but he did not have many friends. He was strong, but he was a loner. His family despised him and chased him away to the land of Tob. He was an outcast. But it was during this time in the wilderness, that other men joined him and he learned how to lead a band of fighting men. They were fighting for food and survival, but God would use this experience to help Jephthah know how to lead the army of Israel against the Ammonites.

Jephthah may have been very discouraged. His mother was a prostitute, and his brothers wanted nothing to do with him. He was chased away and had to feel unwanted and unloved. But God loved him and taught him skills in leading others. It was during the lowest time of his life that he was receiving the most important instruction of his life.

If you feel unwanted and unloved, examine your circumstances closely. It may be that God is helping you during this difficult time to learn some skill or ability which you will need later.

Paul -- Galatians 1:15-18

But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days.

Paul had been going in the wrong direction for a long time. He had been persecuting the church, but Jesus graciously reached down to him and turned his life around. Paul had a lot of talents and abilities. He would make an ideal preacher. But first God wanted Paul to be instructed by the Spirit. So he sent Paul for three years into the deserts of Arabia. I’m sure Paul would have preferred to dwell with the Christians and be able to minister to others about the wonderful miracle God had performed in his life. But God wanted to readjust Paul’s thinking. There was much to learn and some wrong thinking to unlearn. So Paul went into the desert for three years before beginning his ministry.

The Wycliffe Bible Commentary points out, “The apostle mentions Arabia not as a place for preaching, because, even though preaching was in view in the call, it is not the subject under consideration at this point. Paul is discussing the source of his Gospel. He mentions Arabia in contrast to Jerusalem. No apostle was to be found there. No one was there who could inform him about the Lord and His saving work. It is probable that the new convert journeyed to Arabia to be alone with God, to think through the implications of the Gospel.”

Perhaps you feel like you are just spinning your wheels. You want to begin a work for God but none of the doors are opening up like you want. You feel like you’re in a desert far from where you think God wants you to be. Maybe, like Paul, God wants you to spend some time learning new things and unlearning old things. Before we can effectively minister to others, we must be ministered to by God. Allow God to speak to your heart, even though you are in the wilderness.

These Six Examples of Times in the Wilderness

Each one of these great leaders had to spend time in the wilderness. What makes you think you are more important than anyone of them? God may very well send you into the wilderness. But never forget that it’s during those wilderness times that we grow the most as we are prepared for the work that God wants us to perform.

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