Three areas occupied by the children of Israel; Egypt, the wilderness, and the Promised Land are synonymous with the experience of believers today. I will like to emphasize the wilderness and the Promised Land in this article and exempt Egypt. The wilderness is a place that seems no longer used or that no one cares for.
There are certain times in life when you feel forsaken, rejected by loved ones, lonely, and probably feel God is no longer with you. Such a period is called the wilderness experience. The wilderness experience is a time or period that is mandatory for everyone to pass through in life, but it varies for every individual, I mean the form and the duration.
There are different examples of people who had the wilderness experience in the Bible; the Israelites, Joseph, Moses, David, Jesus, and many others.
- The Israelites – the Israelites journeyed in the wilderness for 40years before they got to the Promised Land
- Joseph – Joseph had his own wilderness experience as well. He was despised by his brothers, sold into slavery, and imprisoned in a strange land.
- Moses – Moses had his own wilderness experience while he was with Jethro (his father-in-law)
- David – David took care of his father’s sheep in the wilderness before he was anointed as a king.
- Jesus- Matthew 4:1 says,’ And Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.’ Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days and nights.
One major thing that the believer must know is that God is always with them even in their wilderness experience. In the above examples, God was with all these people.
The Lord was with the children of Israel in the pillar of cloud by day, and fire by night. As for Joseph, it was recorded several times that the Lord was with him in Genesis 39. The Lord was Moses too in the wilderness. Moses had his first encounter with God in the wilderness. God was with David in the wilderness as well to protect and strengthen him to kill the lion and bear that wanted to attack his father’s sheep. It was recorded of Jesus that the angels came to minister to Him, these angels represent the presence of God.
Dearly beloved, be aware that the Lord is with you in your current situation. Be conscious of His presence and know that He’s able to take you to your promised land, just as He did for the Israelites.
You might be wondering why you need to have the wilderness experience in life. The wilderness is not a place of punishment, not at all! God loves you so much and He wouldn’t want to hurt you. The wilderness is a place of training and preparation. God prepares you for your promised land there. Moses and David were trained to be shepherds in the wilderness. This is synonymous with who would ‘shepherd’ the Israelites in the next phase of their lives.
There are certain things you need to do during your wilderness experience to victoriously advance to your promised land.
- Be careful of what you say
- Be Disciplined
- Move Closer to God
Be careful of what you say; the outcome of your wilderness experience depends on how you use your tongue. The Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue, they that love it will eat the fruit thereof (Prov.18:21). Many of the Israelites couldn’t make it to the Promised Land due to careless use of their tongues.
Try as much as possible to stay positive, and don’t complain. Rather, give thanks to God because He’s faithful to take you out of your current situation. His plans for you are of good and not of evil, to give you a future and hope (Jer.29:11).
Asides from that, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, ‘Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”.
Be Disciplined; various temptations would arise during the wilderness experience, but you must stand firm in God’s word. Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife during his wilderness experience, but he refused to give in to her offer because he was disciplined. Jesus was also tempted in the wilderness by the devil three consecutive times, but He overcame these temptations, because He was disciplined (it takes discipline to refuse to turn stone to bread after fasting for forty days and nights).
You might be tempted to do certain things which are against your faith in Christ, but be disciplined just like Joseph and Jesus.
Move closer to God: This is the time to move closer to God. It is not the time to distance yourself from God. Rather, it is the time to have a constant fellowship with the Father, talk to Him, pray, study the scriptures, and obey every instruction given to you by God. You can only draw strength by praying and meditating on God’s word during your wilderness experience. It is through the word of God that you’ll be able to overcome temptations just like Jesus did.
In conclusion, without the wilderness experience, you can’t get to your promised land, because where there’s no cross, there’s no crown. Remember, God is always with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you even during your wilderness experience and He is faithful enough to take you to your promised land.
