When will my wilderness season end?
No matter how far along you are in the journey, at some point—let’s be honest, at many points—you’ll find yourself wondering how long does the wilderness season last. The wilderness is a time of stretching and testing, and sometimes it feels like it’ll never be over.
What makes it more frustrating is that we don’t know how much longer we’ll be there for. Ultimately God is in charge of the timeline, as much as we often wish that wasn’t the case. It’s for our good, though, because his timing truly is perfect and he has a unique purpose for each of us during this season.
In the meantime, how we view the wilderness can have a huge impact on our experience. If we become hyper-focused on when and how we’ll leave this season, we’ll miss out on the hidden beauty Jesus is waiting to reveal to us right now. But if we remain present, we are able to open ourselves up to more of his love, presence and revelation.
Here are a few thoughts that have helped me remain present when all I want is to leave the wilderness:
I have everything I need to be satisfied
When I’ve felt like I’m itching for the next season to come, it’s often been connected to something deeper: discontentment. I realize I’ve become so focused on what I don’t have but really want, and blame it on being in the wilderness. It seems all my problems would be solved if I could just leave.
The wilderness can be the reset we need to understand contentment. God provides for us there but it’s often more the bare-bone necessities than luxuries. It’s never for punishment, but it’s definitely a heart check. We have to confront the reality that we may have been worshiping the gifts more than the giver.
I tend to cause myself a lot of misery and anxiety when I look for contentment everywhere but in God’s presence. Something I’ve had to wrestle with in the wilderness is if I really believe Jesus is enough. Psalm 23 has been so helpful to remind myself in those times when it doesn’t feel true.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul." Psa 23:1-2
Whenever I do choose to let go of those unfulfilled desires and turn back to God, I’m full once again. Connecting with his loving presence re-centers my heart on what I truly want and need.
Jesus is preparing me for greater fruitfulness
As my wilderness season extended longer than I expected, I started to lose faith that this time would amount to anything. So many doubts were creeping up and I wondered if sticking through would be worth it.
It’s hard to hold onto hope when you don’t even know where you’re headed. You have to surrender the map and trust God to lead you, but there are many times where you may question walking forward this far. To those around you, it may seem like you’re making the wrong choice to wait on God and only falling farther behind.
I was praying about this one day and God gave me a vision of a slingshot, with the band tautly pulled back. I immediately sensed he was showing me how he viewed my situation. What I saw as dragging backwards, he saw as necessary for my acceleration in the future. This helped me believe that the stretching and the tension I was holding right now would be released to propel me forward.
It matters so deeply to Jesus that we bear much fruit in his name. Not only does it give him glory, but fills us with purpose. When it feels like the wilderness season will never end, remember that he’s intentionally preparing the way for you to be fruitful in the next season.
The wilderness is not just a season, but a way of being
There are many different thoughts about how to tell when you’re transitioning out of the wilderness. The story of Exodus and the Israelites in the wilderness can be a helpful framework to study. However, I think it can get confusing and misleading if we try to use it to predict the timeline for our own journey.
Like I mentioned earlier, I believe we’re missing the point of the wilderness when we focus too much on when and how it will end. What’s surprised me is the as I embraced the beauty of the wilderness, the less concerned I was about leaving. I actually began to notice that God was reshaping the way I lived and followed him.
As I slowed down my hectic pace and allowed God’s presence to renew me, I saw the ways of the wilderness were vital to a vibrant faith. I didn’t want to go back to the striving and shallow faith of my past. The wilderness transformed me and I wanted to carry everything I’d learned there into wherever I went next.
As you faithfully continue to walk through the wilderness season, I pray God strengthens your faith and gives you rest. You may be feeling uncomfortable and restless right now, but hopefully you can find some peace in knowing that this season will end at some point. And when that day comes, may you hold onto the valuable lessons of the wilderness and let them guide you on your way forward.
If you're looking for a way to process your wilderness season experience, I created some free journal prompts to help you find clarity. Click here to download.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
