The wilderness is part of our spiritual heritage. It was in the wilderness that Israel learned to follow Yahweh. During their 40 years of wandering, God provided manna (“What is it?”) and quail for His people. In the wilderness, Elijah was sustained through famine and drought by the hand of God. Another Elijah-figure, John the Baptist, emerges from his time in the desert with a call to repentance for all who would listen. It is interesting to note that immediately following His baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tried by Satan (Luke 4) prior to beginning His ministry.

Wilderness forms character. It is a place of darkness and fear, to be sure, but it can also be the crucible whereby God molds His people. The wilderness requires trust. Will we strike out on our own, following after our own desires & wants? Or will we continue to be led by the pillar of cloud & fire, the Sovereign Lord Almighty?

I find these words much easier to say and far more difficult to live. Part of me cringes at the thought of enduring my own personal periods of “wilderness”. What if, like Israel, I allow the wilderness to overtake me? What if my fear gets the best of me and I erect gods in place of God? What happens when I face Satan’s temptations and the words of Scripture don’t come to mind? What if the wilderness gets the best of me?

Yet, I can look back now and thank God for my wilderness experiences. The times in my life when I feel most alone are the times when I feel His presence most palpably. My places of deepest pain are ripe to receive His greatest comfort. In the wilderness, I learn to trust Him, even when I can’t see or understand. Feeble and frail though we are, I thank God He deems us worthy of the wilderness. For each day spent in the wilderness draws us one step closer to the Promised Land.