This wilderness was a place of despair and discouragement, where everything looked dry and empty, and my once fruitful life felt barren—like the Israelites, wandering in circles, going nowhere, and producing nothing. I felt distant from the Lord, wondering if He cared because I felt hidden, judged, and forgotten. It’s hard to notice anything good in the wilderness. The wilderness is a time of waiting. Wait. Few words are less welcome. I’ve never met anyone who likes to wait. When we wait long for something, our hopes can rise and die a hundred times. Heartsickness becomes a close companion. We don’t know what God is doing and must simply wait for His timing. With no control over our future, we live day to day, dependent on Him. Our lives feel like they are on hold. I often walked into my wilderness days with little expectation. The world may have been moving all around me, but I felt stuck—stalled, stranded, waiting. Life could begin again if only this wait would end.
In our waiting, God does His most profound work. Waiting is hard and lonely, and often, it feels hidden. Others don’t feel the ache of unfulfilled desires in our hearts, or see the tears that stream down our cheeks, or hear the prayers we cry out to the Lord. God is at work in our waiting. We might not see any changes in these times, particularly through wilderness seasons, but there is a plan and purpose in all of it. God brings us to wilderness seasons because here He is molding and shaping us, teaching us things we cannot learn elsewhere. The wilderness can tether our hearts to Jesus in ways nothing else can. It is a place that requires dependence, not self-reliance. The hope that sustains us in wilderness seasons reminds us that God is there, doing some of His most important work.
Why is waiting so hard to do? Why do we resist it with every fiber of our being? How do we wait well in wilderness seasons?
The simple answer to why waiting is so excruciating is that the heart wants what it wants and demands it now. Seasons of waiting in the wilderness tend to have at least two elements: a lack of something we desperately want and an abundance of something we don’t want. It is so important to remember the wilderness is a place of preparation, not permanence. God doesn’t intend to leave us in the desert places of our lives. He uses them to develop us and prepare us for the places He is leading us to. This is a pattern seen over and over in the Bible. Waiting is not a passive experience but an active adventure.
Something is happening while you wait. It might not be evident in the outward circumstances, but something is taking place inwardly. Waiting is less about what you get at the end and more about who you become in it. Here are several ways to help you wait well while you endure a wilderness season of life:
Wait Dependently. The wilderness can cultivate in us that quality so beneficial to living out faith: dependence. Seasons like this require dependence, not self-reliance; it exposes what’s inside of us and cultivates desperation. Waiting forces us to come to terms with our weaknesses. When we can’t work harder to get what we want, or when we can’t manipulate life to turn out how we want it to, we are left with the truth of our own insufficiency. And we aren’t in control. Not even a little bit. We have to rely on God to act on our behalf. Waiting pushes us to the edge of ourselves, and it is there that we are given the opportunity to see only Christ is capable and able and in control. This is a treasure—to be able to see clearly that Christ is the only strong one, and that He does not despise or turn away from my weakness (Hebrews 4:15).
In fact, He views our weaknesses as opportunities for His glory to be displayed in our lives (2 Corinthians 12:9). Waiting can also be the catalyst to start a revival in your soul. Isaiah 40:31 says, “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength . . .”
And so, in the waiting, we are given the treasure of intimacy with God. He is with us in the waiting: He has heard every prayer, listened to every cry, and kept track of every sorrow (Psalm 56:8).
Wait Patiently. Almost every area of life cultivates in us the art of impatience. Our culture teaches us to crave convenience, comfort, and instant gratification. So, when God tells us to wait far longer than we expected, how do we avoid becoming like Israel’s wilderness wanderers, who “became impatient on the way” and “spoke against God” (Numbers 21:4–5)?
Patience is the companion to humility and the enemy of pride. “The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit” (Ecclesiastes 7:8). Impatience tries to wrestle God for control, while patience gladly sur-renders, with hands open wide, ready to receive all that God has planned and given. Impatience grumbles, while patience rejoices, even while it experiences the real pain of delay. It is in the delays and the pauses, and in becoming aware of our lack of patience, that He works to save us from self-reliance and revitalize our faith and hope in Him.
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7). When we wait patiently, our soul finds rest because waiting forces us to let God move first. When we wait on the Lord with patience, it allows Him to freely work in our lives giving our soul the opportunity to rest.
Wait Faithfully. We are living in an air-fryer generation; the idea being that we want what we want no later than now. Our world abounds with foolish shortcuts—opportunities to leave the narrow way that leads to life for a path that satisfies our flesh. Long seasons of waiting can make the shortcuts seem more obvious.
To wait faithfully means practicing simple obedience day by day, continuing to take steps forward in faith, even if it’s just one baby step at a time. Take your doubts and fears to Him in prayer. Allow Him to remind you of the truth from His Word. As we wait, we keep trusting, we keep believing, we keep reading Scripture to remind ourselves of what God has said. “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5). Scripture is the foundation on which we stand as we watch for God to act according to His perfect timing and will. No matter how we feel or what is going on in our lives, the call is still the same—to keep being faithful to God in the seen and unseen moments of our lives. His faithfulness is marked by humble waiting and trusting that God will use our hidden faithfulness today for His greater glory tomorrow.
Wait Expectantly. There’s waiting, and then there’s waiting expectantly. In our waiting, we can throw ourselves on the floor, slump-shouldered, head hung low, bottom lip protruding, cheeks full of tears—hopeless, grumbling, and critical. Or we can hop up, confident and expectant of God’s response that we’re able to enjoy the wait. If we pout under the false assumption that He’s not going to come through for us, we only cause ourselves misery in the meantime. Wait in expectation. That means we don’t fret or wait fearfully. We wait, expecting God to move while faith fills our soul with expectation. “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14).
God is trustworthy 100% of the time. He loves to see His children wait expectantly on Him. This trusting posture invites Him to answer prayers you never dreamed possible. You trust Him exclusively as you wait for Him expectantly. He knows how to exceed your expectations. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).
Wait expectantly and see. Maybe you’re waiting to hear back about that interview, maybe you’re waiting on an acceptance letter to college, or maybe you’re waiting for God to cross your path with your future spouse. Maybe you’re waiting for healing. Maybe you’re waiting for reconciliation in a friendship. Maybe you’re waiting for something else entirely.
If you find yourself in a dry and weary wilderness season, remember, “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness” (Psalm 25:10). All the paths—even the ones that take us through the desert. God’s steadfast love has brought you here, and He will never leave you or forsake you. We persevere. We trust God when we can’t see anything good. We wait for His timing. We rely on God’s promises. This wilderness is a temporary place; we’re just passing through, even though it might stretch on for a while. God will bring us out of the wilderness when it’s time, and then we’ll see what God has done in us and through us. God isn’t done with you. Lean into Him, listen for His voice, spend time in His Word, and hardest of all, wait for His timing. He just may be preparing you for a time of unprecedented fruitfulness.
This article was originally featured in the March/April issue of Brink Magazine. For more articles like this one, you can go here.
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