Have you ever wandered in the wilderness?

To some, it’s a place uncultivated and natural. To others, it’s a metaphor, a state of mind, a feeling of disconnectedness or wandering aimlessly, lost.

New seasons of life can feel like a wilderness. The lost kind. Am I right? Have you felt that way too?

Life can go from familiar to uncharted. And all we did was blink.

It hit me hardest when my roles changed. Once I was a young wife, a mom of littles, and had a career that began at age 19. Then the littles grew up, the wife was minus the young (but still young at heart), and that 29 year career was over. It was the strangest feeling. I didn’t feel like me. This new territory felt like a wilderness. But I learned that I am not merely the roles I fill and the wilderness isn’t always what we think.

When we’re feeling like a wanderer or a little lost in the wilderness, here are a few facts that should encourage us:

The Lord speaks in the wilderness (e.g., to Moses Exodus-Numbers)

You can be in the wilderness and still be free. (Exodus 14:30)

God leads us into the wilderness to humble and test us. (Deuteronomy 8:2)

David sought refuge in the wilderness. (Psalm 63)

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness. (Psalm 29:8)

God split rocks in the wilderness, providing an abundance of thirst-quenching water. (Psalm 78:15)

John the Baptist baptized and preached in the wilderness. (Mark 1:4)

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. (Matthew 4:1)

Jesus often withdrew into the wilderness to pray. (Luke 5:16)

God is with us in the wilderness and He still provides in the wilderness.  (Deuteronomy 2:7)

How about the parable of the lost sheep? We focus on the lost one, but the ninety-nine others waited behind in the wilderness. And they weren’t lost.

It’s good to know being in the wilderness doesn’t mean we’re lost. And it doesn’t mean we’re alone.

Holy things happen in the wilderness.

If the season we’re in feels uncharted, we need not be anxious. We can be assured God has already charted all our plans well in advance. My plans and yours too.

God is wild about us and isn’t that the beginning of wilderness?

The vastness of the wilderness can cultivate an intimacy with God.

Have you ever wandered in the wilderness?