The Wilderness: What should I do in a season of preparation?
If you’re anything like me— living in uncertainty is painful. The endless nagging thoughts of “what if this?”, or “should I do that?” start to plague you to the point of paralyzation. But what if I were to tell you that all you need to do is be still (Psalm 46:10). When God calls you out of one season & leads you into what is to come, what follows shortly after is usually met with what I like to call a “wilderness” season.
What is a Wilderness Season?
A wilderness season is exactly how it sounds, a place where you are forced to explore, learn, try, grow, fail, and ultimately reprioritize your desires. Its often found that when we’ve had a major curveball thrown at us, like being laid off, experiencing the death of a loved one, or losing our house that our knee jerk reaction is to solve the problem in our own strength. To jump right right back in to what we’ve always done, in hopes to find security and safety in something or someone. But what if i were to tell you that sometimes we need a wilderness season to reflect on what’s actually important to us & to also discover something bigger than ourselves? Without a wilderness season, we risk doing the same thing over and over and getting the same unsatisfying results.
What I’ve learned from wandering in the wilderness is that this particular season requires you to be fully present with what’s in front of you & always obedient to where God calls you. All you can truly do, is wait patiently for his direction & discern which turns to take, and which moves to make. If you didn’t know, Jesus was a leader and a guide, and he discipled twelve people who became his followers. When Jesus moved, they moved, when he called they listened, when he commanded, they obeyed. This is exactly how we are to live our lives in a wilderness season— following his lead & watching out for the signs. While the wilderness might be an uncomfortable place to be, it’s in this season of preparation where a ton of questions start to get answered within you and what’s most important to you will manifest itself in unusual & divine ways.
What will I gain in the Wilderness?
Dependence
Sometimes walking through life in uncertainty of our next step can lead us into feelings of fear. Isaiah 43:10 reminds us “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you”. Sometimes God puts us in seasons of uncertainty to get us to depend on him for everything. Dependence doesn’t come from our own strength, our own works or even our motives. Dependence is admitting we need someone bigger than ourselves to help us with our next step. In our careers, when we get knocked down, convicted, or pulled in a direction we didn’t expect, God calls us to embrace these challenges with open arms, knowing He is the one who authors our next steps. If you’re feeling like you don’t know what the next step is to take, surrender your wants and your needs at his feet, and watch as he divinely orchestrates your next step. “Man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps”. Proverbs 16:9
Opportunity
When you are forced to depend on God, he will present you with opportunities to grow. Not every opportunity is to be claimed as your final destination, but every opportunity is indeed a chance to take you from where you are to where you want to be. This means putting off the old self, and putting on the new (Eph 4:22). Opportunities to try new things, get our of your comfort zone, and step into a new realm of desire that is intended to serve others, will inevitably shape you for what he is preparing you for. Don’t be foolish to miss the opportunities presented to you in a wilderness season— they might just be exactly what you need to move forward in confidence.
Trust
If dependence and opportunity are the ingredients to fuel what God is preparing you for, then trust is a part of the process. Trusting in God is difficult when we don’t actually know who God is. God tells us that he is the Author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He knows every hair on our head, (Luke 12:7) and our days were numbered before we were born (Psalm 90:12). If this is true, then why wouldn’t we be able to trust his lead? Our former traumas and ways in which we were led in the past, have conditioned us to believe that there is no one we can trust other than ourselves. Let me remind you today, that this is a lie straight from the enemy. The enemy’s biggest tactic is to target your mind. If he can get you to overthink, worry and put the responsibility on you to figure out your life, then he has you exactly where he wants you— in the past never moving forward towards what God has prepared for you.
What should I do in a Wilderness season?
Don’t look back. When we look back, we risk what could be. The more we fight, grumble and complain about what we lack in a wilderness season, only causes us to wait even longer for what is coming. Don’t be like the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for far too long & instead of expecting what God had for them, wanted to return to slavery in Egypt because it felt like the easier thing to do. Their journey to the promise land should have only taken a few months, but instead took them 40 years.
The best thing you can do after you’ve been thrown a curveball, and are waiting for what’s next, is to absorb what’s in front of you and become an expert in listening for God’s queues. When he says move, it’s time to move. When he says learn, it’s time to learn. When he says retreat, its time to pull back.
Whether you are a leader who is stepping into new territory, an entrepreneur who is pivoting your plans, or simply an individual contributor who doesn’t know what the next step looks like…take a single step of faith, and then wait. God will show up if you wait on his voice. The bible tells us that “if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25). Remember, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). Humble yourselves before God and he will exalt you in him perfect timing.
Cheers,
Nicole
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