Sometimes we end up in the wilderness due to our own actions. Sometimes, God leads us there; He leads us “the long way around.” The wilderness is an empty place. People may be all around us, but we feel like we are all alone. It is devoid of people and it is dry and barren. Our souls, and sometimes our bodies, become hungry and thirsty. The Psalmist felt that way, and we can read the expression of his feelings in Psalm 63:1, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.”
The wilderness is a place where we feel that we don’t belong. Others may be in it with us, or we may be walking around in our own wilderness. Everyone else’s lives go on, but we feel that everything in our own life is so uncertain. Things seem to change from day to day, but there does not seem to be an end to the situation or situations that trouble us. No answer is easily apparent to us. The only thing we can depend on is God and His word. In this wilderness, we learn the reality of John 15:5 where Jesus says, “without me ye can do nothing.”
The wilderness is a place where God is trying to purge our hearts from the desires of Egypt, that is the worldly desires that draw and entice us. He is showing us that He is sufficient and is all we need. Oddly, instead of looking to Him to fulfill every desire, as the Psalmist did in Psalm 63, we often find ourselves craving the things that were left behind. We’ve lost our control over things (the control we thought we had), and we’ve lost all that is familiar and comfortable to us. Like the children of Israel who desired the fish, melons, cucumbers, leeks, onions, and garlic they enjoyed in Egypt, we long for the things we once enjoyed. Now, there is nothing wrong with the foods the Israelites were missing. There may be nothing wrong with the things we were enjoying. However, for the Israelites, the things they missed were things that also came with the price of bondage. Do the things we think make us comfortable come with the price of bondage? Maybe God is taking them out of our way so that we realize we don’t need them; we only need Him.
As we wander through the wilderness, life may seem to be spiraling out of control. Our grip on the steering wheel has been completely loosened, and we feel helpless. But God has never lost control. As long as we are walking with Him, we are in the right place at the right time. Even in the wilderness, we can echo with the Psalmist, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.” (Psalm 63:5)
In the wilderness, God Himself may seem far away, but He is really very near. If we walk close to Him and listen carefully, we can hear His voice. Though there may be no human help for our circumstances, yet God is our help. The Psalmist continues “7) Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. 8.) My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” (verses 7 & 8)
One thing we must not do in the wilderness is to chafe against God or to rebel against Him. We must not try to remedy the situation ourselves and stop trusting that God has everything under control. Otherwise, we might spend much longer in the wilderness than God originally intended for us to spend there.
As we wander through the wilderness, God will give us tokens of His love and care. From these we can set up a memorial to show to others how God helped us. This will put to silence God’s enemies and will cause great rejoicing to others who walk with the Lord. “8.) My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. 9) But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. 10) They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes. 11) But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.” (Psalm 63:8-11) When we are brought out of the wilderness, those who hate God will be put to silence, but those who love Him will be brought to rejoicing.