Have you ever been in a wilderness season?
Or have you ever gone through the same hard thing twice?
What is the wilderness?
The wilderness is that “in-between” place.
It can be a challenge or a dry spell or an extended time of testing and trials.
It can be a place you feel lonely.
The term “wilderness” comes from the 40 year sojourn the children of Israel (or Jews) did in between leaving Egypt, where they were slaves, and entering the land that was promised to them which would become the Israel of today. In Christian circles, it is often referenced as a negative thing. Mostly because the children of Israel were such rebellious brats the majority of their time there!
But I would say a wilderness season is a challenging but necessary period in a Christian’s life where God works to shape their character, deepen their faith, and prepare them for what lies ahead.
It is often the painful pathway that leads to peace. And promise.
And you know what I realized recently?
Going INTO and coming OUT of the wilderness looks very similar.
They are like mirrored bookends on both sides of wilderness.
The children of Israel came out of the wilderness in exact reverse of the way they went in.
Both sides had them experiencing water from a rock and both sides had them crossing deep waters.
With the wilderness in between.
They literally -
Crossed deep waters on dry ground (the Red Sea)
Drank water from the Rock in a miraculous way
Went through a wilderness journey (pillar by day and cloud by night)
Drank water from the Rock in a miraculous way
Then crossed deep waters on dry ground (Jordan River)
Why did God do that?
Why did he repeat the same thing going out of the wilderness as he did going in? And does He do that in our lives?
I think so.
I think it’s because what looks like a wilderness is often a spacious place of provision and protection and preparation.
Because we grow through what we go through.
Which means we have to go through some stuff! Sometimes more than once.
Have you ever gone through something hard and you made it through (thank you Jesus!), and then months or years later, you feel like you are going through the same thing again?
And the second time through did you ever ask (like me recently) “Really, God? Really? The first time wasn’t hard enough? I have to go through this AGAIN?”
I know I feel like I’m experiencing that “repeat” this year, and I asked that question and then one day in scripture, I saw these mirrored bookends on each end of the wilderness.
I think it’s because the first time we go through it, He wants to show who He is to everyone - including US. He wants us to know we can trust Him with what He’s taking us through and into.
Exodus 14:4, God tells Moses why he pushed the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea when they were leaving Egypt, and Pharoah’s army was pursuing them, where they had no way of escape. It says, “and he (Pharoah) will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharoah and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.”
God intentionally put them in an impossible situation at the end of their own capabilities. The Israelites were afraid and they immediately complained and lamented that they were going to die there and “Why moses did you just bring us out for us to die like this??” (Spoiler alert…they constantly ask this for 40 years!)
But verse 13-14 tells us why - “Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you just have to be still.”
But they still didn’t really get it.
They had to see it.
They had to go through it.
They had to see Moses lift his staff, and see the waters part, and THEN they stepped (probably ran, still unsure) across the dry ground, and on the other side they saw the waters fall and wipe out their enemy.
The end of chapter 14, verse 31 says, “Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.”
The first time through deep water, before going into the wilderness - they had to see it. They had to see God part the waters. THEN they believed in the LORD.
Then the first thing they did after that was complain about the journey and that they were thirsty. So God miraculously provides water gushing from a rock!
God is patient, and He knew they still didn’t completely believe Him. They didn’t KNOW him. So he took them into the wilderness and on a 40 year field trip and constantly showed them Who He is. He was truly so good to them there.
The Bible says it was there in the wilderness that God talked with Moses face-to-face like a man talks to his friend. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT INTIMACY LEVEL ON EARTH?
It was in the wilderness that He gave them instructions and led them through building the tabernacle and the Ark of Covenant.
It was in the wilderness that He provided miracle after miracle for them.
It was in the wilderness that He was so near them, and around them, speaking to them - every single day.
Then one day it was time to move on. He told them it was time to move because they had been “at this mountain” long enough. What we call a wilderness season God called a mountaintop experience! He was basically saying, training camp is over. It’s time to get back into the real world.
First thing they did? Complain about being thirsty again and so God again provides water from a rock.
Then he tells them, right before they are going to miraculously cross another body of water on dry ground, to keep their eyes on the Ark of the Covenant (on HIM) for they “haven’t gone this way before.”
What? But I thought they did this same thing when they crossed the Red Sea?
Well - sort of. But this time, God asked them to step INTO the waters before they part. Moses isn’t there. He isn’t asking them to follow anyone except Him.
God asked them to take steps of faith.
I think God was asking them trust Him. They had just spent 40 years seeing Him be faithful and powerful and awesome and close.
Would they go through the waters differently this time on their way out?
And I think that’s how we have victory in our wilderness seasons. When we realize the wilderness is a training ground. When we appreciate getting to experience the nearness of God there in the dry spells and the time of need. The wilderness is where we SEE and EXPERIENCE and KNOW God is for us.
God uses the wilderness to shift our perspective of who WE ARE and Who HE IS.
And one day, it’s time to come out of the wilderness. Hooray!
But guess what? Coming out looks a lot like going in.
Will we step into those deep waters with deep faith?
“And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you (all your enemies).
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water - the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away…And the people passed over opposite Jericho.”
Joshua 3:9-11, 15-16
I think God takes us through deep waters again, because WE come out differently than we went in.
In verse 13 of this chapter in Joshua it says when they passed over the waters they were “ready for war.”
They had seen what God could do. They had experienced God’s presence and provision.
They weren’t afraid this time.
And this time God asks them to go deeper on the other side.
He tells them to step into the water before it parts. He tells them to keep their eye on the Ark of the Covenant. And, it means it wasn’t going to be easy sailing on the other side! Training camp was over. The promised land would require hard work.
In the next chapter, Joshua reminds them of God’s faithfulness:
Joshua 4:23-24 “For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”
Coming out - they followed God and kept their eyes on Him.
And His glory was on full display.
So, if you feel like there comes a time when you feel like you are repeating some deep waters, instead of bemoaning why you have to go through them again, ask yourself these things:
How am I different now than I was last time?
What are the ways I saw God’s character last time?
How can I put Him on display?
Will I trust Him and step into the waters?
Am I moving through these waters ready for war, and believing God will fight for me?
We always come out better than we went in when we keep our eyes on Him.
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