Finding God’s grace in wilderness seasons

A pull quote from DaySpring contributing writer Karina Allen that reads,

Walking through one hard thing is difficult. Walking through multiple simultaneous struggles can feel crushing. That is what the last two years have felt like: a crushing. It is a crushing I never would have chosen. Every aspect of my life has been in some sort of trial. Finances. Faith. Friendships. Health. Emotions. Mindset. The list goes on. 

At some point, I realized I wasn’t just going through a difficult season. I was in a wilderness. No one likes the wilderness. No one volunteers for it. But, as we see in Scripture, wilderness seasons are important. In fact, they are necessary because they are the season that precedes the next. 

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“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” 

 

Deuteronomy 8:2–3 ESV 

The Israelites wandered for years in the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. That land flowed with milk and honey. It was thriving and flourishing. In many ways, the wilderness was anything but. Our wilderness seasons are when God prunes us of what doesn’t honor Him or align with His purposes. They can feel long and uncertain and quiet. 

God led Israel through the wilderness intentionally. The wilderness was not abandonment, but formation. While God needed to remove the Israelites from Egypt, He also needed to remove “Egypt” from the Israelites. The Israelites thought and behaved like slaves, not like the children of God. They grew dependent on Egypt to meet their every need. They knew nothing of the grace of God until they experienced the wilderness. 

These past two years have been nothing short of exhausting in every way I could imagine. My body is tired. My mind is tired. My heart is tired. I have wanted to give up more times than I can count. I tend to be extremely independent. I easily rely on my own understanding. I like to fix things and to be in control. Many times in life, that has served me well. But not in this season. 

I thought I knew the grace of God. I thought I knew what it meant to depend on Him. But this wilderness season has revealed a new measure of His sustaining grace that I have never experienced before. His grace got me out of bed in the mornings. It brought me to church when I didn’t want to go. It led me to reach out to friends when the enemy wanted me to isolate. His grace reminded me of the truth of His Word when I wanted to camp out in my feelings. And it helped me to pray through my tears when all I wanted to do was stay silent. 

This wilderness season has definitely lasted longer than I expected. I have been disappointed and discouraged. I have been fearful and worried. I have been brokenhearted and hopeless. But, as this season has stretched on, I have begun to realize God wasn’t just trying to change my circumstances. He was trying to change me. He was exposing my heart and the places where I placed my trust and hope and security in more than Him. 

What God reveals, He intends to redeem. 

God doesn’t expose us to hurt or shame us. He exposes us to heal, protect and cover us. That is what the wilderness holds. God uses these seasons to teach us about surrender, trust and dependence on Him. In the wilderness is where we are refined, humbled and strengthened. 

I’m constantly being reminded that God is still present in the wilderness. His presence may seem quiet and His voice may sound like a whisper, but He is near and ever-present. He is loving, kind and faithful through it all.   

I still don’t have every answer or the exact timeline I’ve hoped for. But somewhere in the wilderness, I discovered that God’s grace is not reserved for easy seasons. It’s what carries us through the hard ones. 

A black and white portrait of DaySpring contributing author Karina Allen.

Karina Allen is devoted to helping women live out their unique calling and building authentic community through the practical application of Scripture in an approachable, winsome manner. Find her work at https://forhisnameandhisrenown.wordpress.com.