I used to wonder why we all had to go through wilderness seasons. I saw it as a pattern in Scripture, but I didn’t fully understand it until God in His grace and mercy helped me by teaching me many important truths. I would like to share with you what I believe He taught me, because I understand how difficult it can be to go through wilderness seasons.
I believe that one of the reasons we go through wilderness seasons, is to humble us.
One of the best examples of someone who God humbled during his wilderness season is Moses.
We know that Moses was raised by Pharoah’s daughter and Scripture tells us that he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds.
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
Acts 7:22 NKJV
While Moses was still in Egypt, he knew that God had a calling on his life to deliver the Israelites:
Now when he (Moses) was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.
Acts 7:23-25 NKJV
After Moses killed the Egyptian, he fled for his life (because Pharoah wanted to kill him) to the land of Midian, where he lived for forty years. Even though God had a calling on Moses’ life, he would first have to go through a long 40-year wilderness season in preparation for the great responsibility which awaited him. I believe that during this wilderness season, God humbled and prepared Moses for the enormous task which awaited him – delivering God’s people out of Egypt. By the time Moses was ready for the task at hand, he was very humble. Scripture tells us in Numbers 12:3 that Moses was the meekest man on earth (apart from Jesus of course).
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.
Numbers 12:3 NKJV
When it was time for Moses to step into his calling, he who once was eloquent in speech asked God to send someone else, because he felt like he couldn’t speak well enough:
Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue (heavy or dull of tongue; cannot talk very well).”
Exodus 4:10 NKJV
At this point, we may ask ourselves why God wanted to humble Moses? It could have been for any number of reasons, but may I kindly offer you my personal opinion:
Scripture tells us that Moses was learned in all the ways of the Egyptians. If God had allowed Moses to speak to the Israelites while he was still eloquent of speech and learned in the ways of the Egyptians, there was a good possibility that he could have spoken to God’s people using his own words based on his own understanding. Because Moses was called as a prophet of God, he would need be learned in all the ways of God instead of the ways of the Egyptians. He also would have needed to completely rely on the Lord for His wisdom, and not rely on what he learned from the Egyptians. I believe God used the time in the wilderness to humble Moses so that he would have to rely on God to give him the words to speak based upon the message that God had for His people.
Scripture shows us that when God appoints a prophet, they would have to know the voice of the Lord and speak the words that the Lord gives them. Let’s just look at a few examples:
- Jeremiah was a prophet who God called to start his ministry while he was still very young. Jeremiah too said to the Lord that he couldn’t speak because he was still a youth (Jeremiah 1:6). But the Lord helped and encouraged Jeremiah:
Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.”
Jeremiah 1:9 NKJV
2. God instructed Ezekiel to eat a scroll so that he could speak to Israel using God’s words. The scroll which he was instructed to eat represents God’s written word.
Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.
Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.”
Ezekiel 3:1-4 NKJV
Even though Moses asked the Lord to send someone else, the Lord comforted and reassured Moses by telling him that He would be with his mouth teaching him what to say, and that He would send Aaron (Moses’ brother) to help him.
We may not all be called as prophets (like Moses), but we do all have a function within the body of Christ. We will all go through wilderness seasons where God will prepare us for the calling He has for our lives.
I believe that God will humble us so that we will not rely on our own understanding, our own skills, our own knowledge, but instead we will know that we need to wholeheartedly rely on Jesus for everything. The Lord also teaches us during our wilderness seasons. For example: He teaches us to ask Him for wisdom and counsel when we encounter difficult situations. He teaches us to depend on Him to provide for us and to protect us. He teaches us to know and recognize His voice and to obey His instructions. He gives us guidance and teaches us discernment by reason of use. He humbles us so that we know that we cannot finish our race on our own, we need His continual guidance.
I’d like to leave you with a word of encouragement. If you feel like you are currently in a wilderness season whereby you are being humbled, just know that God has a reason for it. He has a good plan for your life and a function within the body of Christ for you to fulfill. Try not to see it as a negative thing. See it as a wonderfully blessed opportunity to grow close to the Lord, so that you can learn to completely rely on Him.
I believe that there are blessings which await each of us as we allow God to humble us. The blessing is that He will use our lives to bring glory to His name. The blessing is that we get to have a close intimate relationship with the Lord where we can see His hand in everything. The blessing is that we will become more like our beloved Jesus, who too displayed His perfect humility while fulfilling His earthly ministry. God is preparing us for the good works He has in store for us.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
May God bless you in your wilderness season, and may He continue to guide you in the perfect path that He has for you.
Blessings in Jesus name.