Spiritual Wilderness

Scriptures: Psalms 24:3, Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 43:2, Deuteronomy 2:7

Israel left Egypt, which was their place of deliverance, but the promised land they were heading for was their place of dominion. In between Egypt and the promised land was a dry desert. The period between deliverance and dominion is usually marked by a miserable wilderness. 

Elijah went through a wilderness as well as the apostle Paul (1 Kings 19:1-9; Galatians 1:17-18). Even our Lord Jesus “was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1) after being filled with the Holy Spirit. 

The wilderness experience is a tough time in which we endure spiritual afflictions. Often, it’s a time when temptation intensifies; there might be spiritual attacks on our soul. This is a time that may also involve a spiritual drought when we feel disconnected from God. 

A spiritual wilderness is not a sign that we are in sin although sometimes it feels like that. Instead of looking for God, we tend to look for some sin that can be blamed for our current experience. If you are going through a spiritual wilderness right now, remember you are not alone. The Holy Spirit is with you right now. 

God is with you in the wilderness even when you don’t feel Him.

Scriptures: Luke 4:13-14, Numbers 14:34, Philippians 2:14

Not only can we overcome our wilderness experiences, but also we can shorten them by the way we respond. Whenever we can’t control what happens around us, we must not fret about it. Instead, we need to control the only thing we can control, which is our response. 

When we can’t control our circumstances, we can control our confession, attitude and response. How we react in the spiritual wilderness will determine how long we will stay there. 

Israel’s wilderness time was not supposed to be forty years, but it was extended only because of their reaction to potential problems in the promised land. 

Complaining prolongs your spiritual wilderness; confessing God’s Word shrinks it. Compare Jesus with Israel. His wilderness time lasted only forty days, not forty years. What did Jesus do in the wilderness? Well, He did not complain, He confessed God’s Word. 

We usually don’t get to dominion right after deliverance without passing through a spiritual wilderness. We must learn to confess God’s Word while in the wilderness in order to see our wilderness come to an end. After Jesus spoke the Word in the wilderness, that period of temptation ended, and He entered into ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Confess God’s word, not your feelings. 

Scriptures: Deuteronomy 5:15, 1 Chronicles 16:12, 2 Chronicles 32:31

Back in the days when I was in school, every time the teacher gave us a test, there was silence. Before the test, the teacher would teach but during the test the teacher was silent. The teacher’s silence didn’t mean that the teacher was absent – I was taking a test. I was tempted to raise my hand and ask about a question that was on the test, but I knew the teacher wouldn’t give me any answers. Why? Because I was the one taking the test. When we are not being tested, we can ask any question and get an answer, but during the test, there is silence from the teacher. 

Spiritual dryness usually is accompanied by this sort of silence from God. When God is silent in your life, that might mean you’re taking a test. 

God’s silence is not God’s absence. It means that we are being tested. One of the things we had to do in school whenever we took a test was to remember what the teacher had taught us before the test. Remembering is the same principle at work in a spiritual wilderness. So often during our dry times, we tend to remember the things we should forget and forget the things we should remember. 

Like students, we have to remember what God has said and done to get us through this test. In our minds we must build memorials to His miracles; but instead, some of us build monuments to our mistakes. That’s why we are flunking our test in the wilderness. 

Great faith in dry times is really found in having a good memory of God’s past faithfulness and God’s promises. David overcame Goliath by remembering God’s faithfulness when he encountered the bear and the lion. Jesus overcame the devil in the wilderness by quoting the Scriptures that He remembered. 

Scriptures: 1 Samuel 13:14, Hebrews 11:6, Hebrews 12:1-2

In my younger years, it was hard for me to continue my devotions when I didn’t feel His presence for a while. It was discouraging, but I have learned a few things that have changed my perspective. 

One thing I learned is that God promises to reward those who fervently seek Him, not who only find Him. We don’t seek God because He is lost. He is always near to us because His Spirit lives within us. We go to prayer not to find God but to be with Him. With that said, there are seasons in life where it seems and feels like His manifest presence is gone. 

During these seasons you must understand that God is building up your faith since Jesus is the author and perfecter of your faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, and this faith gets stronger as your feelings get weaker. You are forced to rely only on God’s Word, not on your feelings or experiences. In seasons of your spiritual wilderness, only faith can help you come closer to God. If you live by your feelings, you will feel distant from God. When you go to God’s throne in spite of your negative feelings, you are building your faith. 

I find it encouraging that He is not a rewarder of those who feel or experience Him but of those who do their best to seek Him. 

King David was called “a man after His own heart”. God didn’t say that David had His heart; he was simply after it. David was in constant pursuit of God. In reading the Psalms that he wrote, we see his heart’s journey into the presence of God. At times he would complain that he didn’t feel God, yet he was still seeking after Him. God likes that. He wants us to pursue Him, even when we don’t feel like it. 

In fact, not only does God love that we pursue Him, but He also rewards us. This truth has been the source of my encouragement. I don’t submit to my feelings, but I let my faith grow by going to God no matter what’s happening in my life. 

Scriptures: Psalms 119:11, Matthew 4:4, John 1:1-5

Sometimes we just don’t feel the Holy Spirit leading us to seek the Lord’s face. The devil may be filling our head with lies that God doesn’t care about us anymore. Sometimes we hit a dry season during which we feel absolutely no desire to pray, fast, or read the Bible. Often, that lonely season involves spiritual warfare. Whenever you don’t feel like going to King Jesus is when you need to go to Him the most, in spite of your feelings. When you lose your hunger for God, you must force-feed yourself with His Word, even if you don’t feel like doing it. A spiritual appetite grows by eating. A spiritual hunger follows spiritual feeding. Push yourself to eat whenever you want to have a greater hunger for God. Physical hunger comes by not eating, but spiritual hunger follows after eating. The more you enjoy fellowship with God, the more you crave Him.  

If you are losing your hunger for God, force-feed yourself until hunger kicks in. When you don’t feel the Holy Spirit moving in your life, feed yourself on the Scriptures until you do. That’s Him talking to you. Don’t submit to your feelings when you’re in the spiritual wilderness or under spiritual attack. Feelings can’t be trusted, especially when you are facing challenges. Feelings must not dictate your behavior. 

I know it’s easier to write about this than it is to live it. Doing what is right, even when we are not feeling close to God, develops spiritual maturity. Our faith flourishes when feelings fail. Don’t attach your faith to feelings; connect your faith to Jesus. He never fails! Go to your King when you feel unmotivated, discouraged, sad and defeated. Just take the initiative to linger with Him and enjoy His friendship. His presence is your solution! 

Scriptures: Isaiah 41:18, Psalms 107:35, Matthew 4:11, Matthew 12:43, James 4:7

Demons do not live or abide in dry places; they only go through them. They dwell in wicked places. Demons lives in dead places. As long as you are alive, even if you’re dry, the enemy will feel uncomfortable by your constant praises, praying in the Spirit and confessing God’s Word. He will flee if you submit to God’s Word and stand your ground. 

We don’t run from the devil; he runs from Christ in us. 

Maybe you feel tempted by the devil in your wilderness as Jesus was, but don’t lose hope. The devil will not stay in a dry place. He will go through it. The enemy is seeking a place to rest. So be alert and keep him from finding “rest” by praising God, seeking God and standing on His Word, even when you don’t feel like it. 

You may feel tired, but remember, the enemy gets tired too. Your faith, declarations of Scripture verses, and praise wears out the devil. Continue to press into God’s presence until the enemy gets restless and moves on. Stand firmly on God’s promises and enjoy His warm love in spite of your current situation and feelings. 

If you are in a dry place right now and feel like you’re being attacked, I want to prophesy into your life that if you speak God’s Word and not your own feelings, the enemy will flee. Remember, you may be dry, but you’re not dead. Your dry season is coming to an end.

Scriptures: Joshua 6:20, Judges 7:18, Isaiah 43:7, Psalms 8:2, Psalms 149:6-9, 1 Samuel 16:23, 2 Chronicles 20:21, Acts 16:25

The Spiritual wilderness is a place of wandering. It’s a time when our feelings can fade, our finances might get dry, our relationships get sour, our experiences with God seem to be shallow, and our doubts get amplified. 

Spiritual wilderness is spiritual warfare. There is one key that can help us win this spiritual warfare and move us from a spiritual wilderness to victory. That key is worship! 

In the wilderness, we will either whine or worship. Chronic complaining may seem natural and come easy, but it has dangerous consequences. Complaining is to the devil what worship is to God. 

Wilderness is a dry place; worship is the water! Naturally, we get water from a lake, river, or well. The children of Israel got their water from the Rock. The Rock symbolizes Jesus Christ. That speaks to us today that our worship must flow from who God is especially in our difficult days. Even if our life is currently not doing well, God is good. Worship is essential to surviving wilderness. It will keep us spiritually hydrated. 

Not only does worship help us get through hard times without becoming whiners, it is also our spiritual weapon. We are created to worship but called to warfare. One of our weapons is worship. God wants us to have praises in our mouths and His sword in our hands. Spiritual warfare doesn’t work if our mouth is full of complaining and admitting defeat.

It’s time to blow a horn-like Gideon in the face of your enemy. 

It’s time to shout like Joshua in the face of the walls.