When the Wilderness Becomes Your Training Ground

Not many people posts about the wilderness season while they are in it.

You won't see it on Instagram or on TikTok -- the season where God is silent, where nothing is growing, where you're wondering if He forgot about you. It doesn't make for a good caption. It doesn't get likes.

But here's what I've learned... the wilderness is not a punishment. IT'S PREPARATION.

Some of the greatest men and women of God spent significant time in the wilderness before they stepped into their purpose:

• Moses spent 40 years in the desert before God called him from the burning bush.

• David was anointed king as a teenager but didn't sit on the throne for over a decade -- years spent running, hiding, and surviving.

• Jesus Himself was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days before His public ministry began.

The wilderness wasn't a detour; it was the training ground..

So What does the Wilderness Teach You...

1. Dependence on God. When everything is stripped away -- the platform, the people, the resources -- you learn WHO your real source is. For example, the Israelites learned in the wilderness that God provides, DAILY! He provided food, protection, healing, and deliverance.... not weekly...not monthly...but daily. And similar for us, the wilderness seasons teach us to depend on God daily. I am reminded of the song lyrics, "One day at a time, sweet Jesus..." It was a wilderness season that inspired those lyrics and inspired others around the world and across time to be encouraged and to keep the faith in the Author and Finisher.

2. Who you really are. When there's no audience, no applause, and no recognition -- who are you? The wilderness reveals your character when nobody is watching. It's where God develops the private you before He releases you to the public, so the two remain.

3. Patience and timing. We live in a microwave generation. We want the calling now, the breakthrough now, the platform now. But God operates on a different timeline. The Word of God continuously reminds us to trust His timing.

• Habakkuk 2:3 -- "..Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

• Isaiah 40:31 -- "They that wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength..."

• James 1: 2-4 -- "My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

4. Spiritual warfare. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. And so will you... The enemy shows up in your dry season to offer shortcuts, compromise your values, take the easy road, and to give up on the promises of God. It is in the wilderness where you train to fight like Jesus--where our hands are trained for war and our fingers to fight. And it is also in the wilderness that we learn to wield our sword just as He did with "IT IS WRITTEN!"-- the Word of God, which is sharper than any double-edged sword.. that can separate soul from spirit and bone from marrow (Hebrews 4:12). That's pretty heavy-duty artillery if you ask me.

The wilderness teaches us to withstand.

We don't just Survive...We Thrive in the Wilderness...

• Don't rush the process. God is not slow -- He is thorough. What He's building in you right now will not only sustain you, but prepare you to where He's taking you. "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." (Philippians 1:6)

• Stay faithful in the quiet. Keep praying. Keep worshiping. Keep showing up. The wilderness rewards consistency.

• Journal what God is teaching you. One day you'll look back and see that the wilderness was the most transformative season of your life.

• Don't compare your process to someone else's process. Their timeline is not your timeline. The lessons you need in the wilderness, may not be the lessons another person needs. But trust the process and be confident that you will exit the wilderness and into your promised land. Your season is coming!

Deuteronomy 8:2 -- "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart."

Don't allow time to discourage you. You serve the Keeper of kairos and chronos. The same God who kept the sun up during battle is the same God who promised to redeem time, so keep going Bruh... keep going Sis.

Keep Walking...

The wilderness isn't where God abandons you. It's where He trains you. It's where He refines you. It's where He prepares you for the promises and for the assignments ahead.

So if you're in a dry season right now -- hold on. Don't quit. Don't shrink. Don't run. You're not lost. You're being TRAINED.

Your promised land is on the other side of this wilderness. Keep walking.

Want to go deeper and understand what it takes to not get weary in the wilderness. Check out my Coaching Services for assistance to flourish forward.