What are You Waiting For?

The wilderness.... 

A place that makes us uncomfortable and anxious. A place where Satan is quick to tempt us to doubt God's plan.  A place where we so easily sin in order to satisfy the hunger and thirst in our souls. We find ourselves here when God asks us to leave something behind, but He has not yet brought us to where we are going. We find ourselves here when we fervently pray for something, but God is not answering our requests according to our timetable.

What are you waiting for?

Maybe it's a promotion at work, a house to sell, a wayward child to come back home, a broken relationship to be reconciled, direction on who to marry, financial provision to start a project, a family member or friend to be saved, healing for a sickness or disease,  or mending of a broken heart...  Whatever it may be, during these in-between-seasons, we often wonder if God hears our prayers or if He cares about us at all.

I know this discouragement because I have been there. In many ways, I am there right now. There are things in my life I believe God has promised to me that are yet to be fulfilled.  I am thankful for God's word that gives us perfect guidance on what and what not to do when we find ourselves at this place. Looking to the example of the Israelites in the Old Testament during their 40 years in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land,  we see how sin and rebellion caused them to miss out on God's greatest blessings. There are 2 obvious sins that the Israelites commit while in the wilderness that I will point out, because I believe these two examples sum up almost entirely the reactions we are all prone to have when we find ourselves in the wilderness season's of our own lives.


1) They grumble and complain and wish that God had let them stay in Egypt (aka Bondage)

“The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3)

Why would He bring them this far only to let them die of hunger?! Don't we ask ourselves the same thing. Why would God put this dream/desire in my heart if he is never going to fulfill it?! Why would God lay this person on my heart to pray for if He is never going to answer us?! We ask  ourselves these questions, because we don't believe that God is going to provide a way FOR US. We are foolish to think that while we wait on God to act, He has somehow forgotten us. That is not the God of the bible.

2) They turn to idolatry.

The people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him...“These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” Exodus 32:2;4

 

Before you are quick to judge the obvious idolatry of the Israelites, look into your own heart. We do the same thing. We are quick to forget that it is God who has delivered us from our life of sin and bondage in the first place. Rather than letting the hunger and thirst drive us towards God, we charge ahead and make our own way. Instead of patiently waiting in the wilderness to see how God will make this all work out, we turn to the idols of our heart and try to fulfill our desires/dreams in our own way through sinful means. We put ourselves back in the very bondage that God delivered us from!

They failed to understand that the trials and the hunger and thirsting served a purpose. It pointed them to their greater need and God glorified His own name through his miraculous provisions (Deut 8:18). Ultimately, because of their sin and rebellion,  a whole generation missed out on entering the Promised Land (Numbers 14:20-23). That should serve us a huge warning to us. What we do with our time in the wilderness has consequences. We can choose to grumble and complain and turn to idolatry, or we can walk in obedience and trust God to provide for us in his good and perfect timing. What does this look like practically for us? Using God's word, I have come up with some suggestions.

Don't turn around!  If God has called you to move forward with something, move forward!! Satan will tempt you to look back and long for the "fullness" you had before you came to the wilderness. But remember, God is bringing you to something BETTER. Trust the process! Be persistent in prayer! (Romans 12:12)

Don't fear the wilderness Sometimes in the midst of the wilderness, we are tempted to find the easiest and quickest way out or beg God to completely take us around it, but then we would completely miss the lessons that God is trying to teach us. Let Him take you through it. Let Him refine you, even when it hurts!  (Job 23:10; 1 Peter 5:10)

Be obedient in the small things. Do not expect God to do a miracle for you when you aren't walking according to his Word right where He has you. God expects obedience 100% of the time, regardless of our circumstances. The wilderness is not an excuse to stop serving and loving God with our whole hearts. (Luke 16:10)

Resist the temptation to satisfy your needs through your own means, leading to sin and idolatry. This happens so easily. God isn't satisfying your desire for a spouse, so you turn to pornography and ungodly relationships. Sex becomes a god. God isn't giving you the breakthrough you need in your career to earn a greater income, so you turn to gambling and dishonest ways of earning money. Money becomes a god. You experience loneliness, so you turn to food or shopping or excessive exercise to fill the void in your heart. These all become gods. This is idolatry. (Ex 20:3)

 Thank God for all he has done and will do. We are to present our requests with thanksgiving. Don't expect the peace of God to come over you if you are failing to thank God while you are still in the wilderness. The peace that surpasses all understanding is only a promise to those who make supplication with praise and thanksgiving. (Phil 4:6-7).

Expect provisions in unexpected ways. God made manna fall from heaven and water flow from a rock (Isaiah 48:21; Ps 78:24) Don't underestimate your God! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is sovereign over all mankind and all creation. He can move the mountain and part the sea that is standing in your way!
 
Don't trust your feelings. Trust in God's character as revealed in the Scriptures. Whether you "feel" God near or not, He is with you.  Just as Yahweh was with the Israelites in the wilderness guiding them and going before them (Deut 31:6), the Holy Spirit is with you guiding you, helping you, and teaching you (John 14:26).

Most importantly, keep your eyes on Jesus. He is the author and finished of your faith! He is the one who will enable you to run with endurance and finish the race (Heb 12:2).
 

 Whether you find yourself at the start, at the end, or somewhere in the middle of a wilderness season, I encourage you to continue to trust and walk in obedience. We serve a good God! Satan wants to use this season to crush you, discourage you, and distract you. God wants to use this season to strengthen you, refine you, and draw you to Himself. Christ has already given you the victory over whatever you are facing! Move forward with boldness and faith!

*It wasn't that long ago that I went through a season of severe drought in my own life. It was painful. I watched so many things in my life that I had worked for crumble before my eyes. I felt as though I was being stripped from the inside out. There were many times when I begged God to "get me out" or "take the pain away." But he so lovingly whispered to me There is no way around this. You must go through this so you can receive the blessings that I have for you on the other side. Did I like this answer? Absolutely not, but I knew that to take the easy way out would cause me to forfeit whatever it was God was trying to teach me. Instead, I chose to submit and my prayer became God whatever it takes, keep me here. Every time I'm tempted to run from you, bring me to my knees in surrender. God heard my prayer and lovingly guided me through every tearful breakdown, every fist-pounding moment of anger and grief, and every moment of wanting to completely take off and run in the opposite direction of where He was taking me.  As I waited on God the treasures began to grow, the anger subsided, and submission became easier.  I had peace in my heart. I understood God's love for me in a way that I never had before. The pain and grief I experienced during this season was very real, but beauty rose from the ashes. I'm so glad that God took me through this wilderness and not around it.  He is faithful! (You can read more about this story here).*