Deuteronomy 8:2-5, New Living Translation

“Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.”

I believe we all go through a season of “wilderness.” This season can take place before we know Christ or even in the midst of walking with Christ. In fact, I believe we go through several “wilderness” seasons. The Israelites were known to be stubborn and rebellious people. Though they witnessed miraculous signs and wonders from God, they still strayed away from God to do their own thing. How often do we ourselves do this very thing thinking that we can do something on our own? Deuteronomy 8:2-5 (NLT) says this, “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.”

This scripture spoke so much to my spirit. I pray, as I share what the Lord spoke to me through His Spirit, that revelation and truth will also be brought to your heart through the power of His Holy Spirit. We are all unique and have our own journey with the Lord. Our experiences with our Lord will be unique to us.

In my recent experience with the Holy Spirit, two seasons of wilderness come to my mind. The first one comes from a place where I did not know Jesus. I was living according to my own stubborn ways. I did not know what was missing in my life. As the scripture says, He lets us go hungry to humble us and then feeds us manna. I was walking according to my way, and then brought low in Hamlet, North Carolina. Due to an invitation to church, when I hadn’t been to church in years, I found my broken and hurting self in tears before the Lord as he assured me that I was not alone. From this experience, I embraced Him, realizing my need for Him, but I was still missing the point. People don’t live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.   

When I moved back to Ohio, my relationship began to blossom with the Lord. I wanted to be at the church every time there was an event going on to have fellowship with the saints– and to be encourage. I wanted to be with likeminded people. As your relationship with the Lord grows, you do not lose yourself, you are dying to self. I think that is hard for a lot of people because they are afraid of losing who they are. Life is hard when we try to do things our way. That’s what I was doing, trying to force things to go my way. And again, the Lord humbled me, and it was beautiful because He revealed something so beautiful to me.

The Israelites received corrections while they were in the wilderness. It’s important for us to know that it was a correction, not punishment. 1 John 4:18 (NLT) tells us, “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.” Notice the word punishment was used in this scripture. Out of curiosity, I looked up the difference between punishment and correction. This is the beautiful thing that the Holy Spirit revealed to me. Punishment focuses on actions taken in our past and aims for retribution. Correction emphasizes future behaviors and aims to change those behaviors. What came to me was Jesus. You see, Christ took on our punishment that we deserved when He went to the pavement to be beaten beyond recognition and then hung on a cross for our redemption. Our correction comes perhaps through those wilderness moments when we choose to go our own way. Why do I say this? Because I asked myself, “What did I receive when I was in the ‘wilderness?’” Scripture reminds us that the Israelites, in all their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, that their clothes did not wear out, their feet did not blister or swell and that the Lord provided for every need. In my wilderness, God did not abandon me. In fact, He provided for my every need…food, clothes, shelter. He even provided more than my basic needs. He provided me opportunities to serve and to love others well and gave me corrections so that I could be led to the path that He has for me. Remember, just as a parent disciplines their child, so the Lord disciplines those He loves. Our Lord is wonderful! He sees the best that we can be, and through this time of wilderness and correction. He is bringing us into the best versions of ourselves, and testing our character to see if we will obey His commands.

The Lord is doing a beautiful work within each one of us. It is a work that He promises to complete until the day of Christ’s return. We must keep our hearts surrendered to Him. Otherwise, with a hard heart, we continue to walk in our own ways. With hearts soft before Him, He is able to do the work within us and through us. This is where the true transformation takes place, and Jesus is able to shine through us. The Bible tells us, “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:16, NLT). This can only be done when we remain connected to the true vine as Jesus talks about in John 15. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, NLT) Our Lord is so gracious in the fact that we don’t walk alone. He chose us to partner with Him to do His will, His assignment for us individually and collectively as the church.

As the Holy Spirit revealed these truths to me, it only made my love for Him grow even more. I pray that as you reflect on your “wilderness” that the Holy Spirit will reveal truth to you and draw you ever closer to our loving Father. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.