VL - Issue 42 - January 2022
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STEPPING FORWARD<br />
TRUTHS TO REMEMBER<br />
IN THE WILDERNESS<br />
BY LISA APPELO<br />
ONE SWIFT KICK. The frustration of the last ten months had<br />
come to a head, and with all the patience of a three-year-old, I<br />
took it out on the side of the tub. But tubs are unforgiving. Almost<br />
immediately, my ankle swelled in shades of blue and purple, and<br />
soon, I couldn’t bear any weight on that foot. For the next two<br />
days, I hobbled around, painfully aware that my heart needed<br />
fixing more than my ankle.<br />
I’d been wandering a wilderness of isolation and waiting after<br />
moving from a small town I loved to a large city. I knew God had<br />
led us to move, but the months spent looking for a new church,<br />
new house, new everything had taken their toll. I missed my<br />
friends and longed to be settled. The lease on our rental was<br />
expiring, our furniture was in storage, and I missed the permanence<br />
of a home of our own.<br />
Maybe you’ve experienced a wilderness of isolation without<br />
friends, family, or a church home. Maybe you’ve endured a wilderness<br />
of waiting long past your timeline despite your prayers.<br />
Or maybe you’re in a wilderness right now of deep pain or grief<br />
after your life shattered around you.<br />
When we’re in the wilderness, we want out quick. But focusing<br />
on getting out can make us miss the lessons God has for us there.<br />
Wilderness circumstances feel barren, but they can be spiritually<br />
rich. Here are some truths to remember when you find yourself<br />
in the wilderness.<br />
God provides in the wilderness. If God leads you to it, you can<br />
trust He will provide for you there. He led the Israelites into the<br />
wilderness. He led David, Elijah, and even Jesus there too. But<br />
God never left them to fend for themselves. He provided manna<br />
for Israel, safety for David, and meat and bread for Elijah. And<br />
after Jesus fasted 40 days in the wilderness, God sent angels to<br />
care for him. God will provide for you there, too.<br />
God reveals His character in the wilderness. When Hagar<br />
fled to the desert after being mistreated and rejected, God appeared<br />
to her. She called Him “the God who sees me” (Genesis<br />
16:13 NIV). When Moses was in the wilderness, God appeared<br />
to him, revealing Himself as the “I am; the Lord” (Exodus 6:2–3<br />
NIV). At various times, God revealed Himself to the Hebrews as<br />
the Bread of Heaven, the Living Water, the Holy One, the Law<br />
Giver, and the Rock.<br />
On Mt. Sinai, God revealed himself as, “The Lord, the Lord, the<br />
compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love<br />
and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving<br />
wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6 NIV). Don’t miss the<br />
ways God reveals Himself to you in the wilderness.<br />
The wilderness is a place of preparation, not permanence.<br />
God doesn’t park us in the desert places of life forever. He uses<br />
them to prepare us for where He is leading us next. This pattern<br />
occurs repeatedly in the Bible. God led the Israelites into the wilderness<br />
to make them a nation, give them His law, and show them<br />
how to worship, in order to prepare them for the Promised Land.<br />
God led Jesus into the wilderness where Jesus fasted and<br />
prayed for 40 days and was tempted before beginning His public<br />
ministry. Paul spent three hidden years in the desert before<br />
launching into his evangelical missionary journeys. What is God<br />
preparing you for?<br />
The wilderness is never meant to harm you; it’s meant to<br />
form you. Deuteronomy 8:15–16 NIV says, “He led you through<br />
the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land,<br />
with its venomous snakes and scorpions…to humble and test you<br />
so that in the end it might go well with you” (emphasis added).<br />
God always intends it to go well with us. Don’t do as I did and<br />
kick against the wilderness places. God already has a good end<br />
in mind. As you wait, get to know Him in new ways, trust His<br />
provision, and get prepared for what He has in store. And when<br />
He reveals that next step, take it. You are not alone.<br />
LISA APPELO is a speaker, writer, and Bible teacher who inspires women<br />
to deepen their faith in grief and find hope in the hard. Formerly a litigating<br />
attorney, her days are now filled with parenting seven children, ministering,<br />
writing, speaking, and running enough to justify lots of dark chocolate. Find<br />
Lisa’s encouragement for faith, grief, and hope at LisaAppelo.com.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 01 / <strong>2022</strong><br />
15
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