A season of waiting versus a wilderness season - But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. - Isaiah 40:31

A season of wilderness versus a waiting season

God meets you exactly where you are. The best way to describe it, is that depending on where you are in your faith walk, you will interpret bible verses differently. There are so many different interpretations of one passage, and all of them can be correct. One of these examples, which we will focus on, is the Israelites in the desert, yes it talks about how God delivered His people, BUT is that the only interpretation?

One of the interpretations that I heard was from John Bevere, and he describes it as a wilderness season. It took the Israelites 40 years to do an 11-day journey (Deuteronomy 1:2). They were in a wilderness season. 

A wilderness season is when you are going through a time, a season, of not knowing which way to turn, you don’t hear the voice of God, and you are just feeling abandoned. During this season, we have a choice: are we giving up on God, on our religion, on our beliefs, OR are we going to build our faith and push in with the Lord? You see, sometimes God allows us to go through these seasons, because that is where we build our faith, he draws us in. When life is good, we might not build our faith and push in with the Lord. We build our faith when we choose, to still believe and trust in God, even though things around us are in chaos.

If you are going through a wilderness season, please know that God promises that He will never leave or forsake you! He has not abandoned you; He might just be testing you and pushing you to grow your faith.

For example, a few years ago, I went through a wilderness season. This is where I received a word from God, a promise to hold onto, and then it seemed like everything was falling apart, and to top it off, it also felt as if God was quiet. Suddenly, I was being tested from all sides, shapes and forms. The decision we have to make is whether we are going to push in deeper or are we going to give up. I decided to push in deeper. For it is written in James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” You see, God never said that He will withhold trials and tribulations, in fact, he mentions that the testing is where we are refined like Gold – a cleansing season. But He does promise that He will never leave us and never forsake us!

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
- James 1:2-4

Then what is the season of waiting?

A season of waiting is where we have received a promise from God, now we are in the season of waiting for the fulfillment of these promises. Similar to the wilderness season, except now, we are not being tested as vigorously as in the wilderness season. 

The word “wait” is used roughly between 60 – 75 times in the bible. All of us will wait in various seasons of our lives, waiting for direction, waiting for the promises to be fulfilled, and ultimately as it is mentioned in Philippians 3:20, waiting for the return of Jesus – the ultimate wait. We wait on the Lord in order to be ready for His coming. If we are immature when a promise is fulfilled, we will either plunder that promise, or we will not cope with the fulfillment, etc. When we wait for something, we tend to appreciate it more when we receive it, and we do everything in our power to treasure it.

However, I strongly believe that waiting on the Lord is not just a “sit and do nothing” period. The waiting period in my experience, is where we have time to grow, and yes we all get impatient and try to force the situation. One of the passages that comes to mind is Genesis 15:4-5 where Abraham was promised a son, he and Sarah did not want to wait any longer, so they tried to intervene, by having Ishmael with Hagar. We all know that it did not turn out to be the correct decision, and we can even reason that till this day, we still see the consequences of those actions.

What do we do in the season of waiting?

I believe that it is different for everyone, but most definitely this is a season of preparation and growing of faith. Personally, I have come to the conclusion that my active waiting season is where “I do my best, and leave the rest to God”. Psalm 27:14: “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

For example, let’s say I want my business to grow. I can’t just sit around and wait for a contract to fall from the sky (although I do believe that everything is possible with God), but I will in the meantime, do everything that I can, whether that be posting to Facebook, creating a website or applying for contracts. I still believe and pray that God’s will be done, not mine, but I will do as the Holy Spirit leads me, doing whatever is required.  For obedience is Worship – obedience is better than sacrifice.

The Bible says “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” – Ecclesiastes 9:10. I believe strongly that in your season of waiting, you do what is in front of you. Whether that be serving your household, or starting with that idea that was planted in your spirit. Do what you can, and leave the rest to God.

Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
- Genesis 16:15

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you today, to ask that you please grant me the patience to wait on you. Lord I realize that the seasons of waiting are necessary for me to grow, I realize that even though sometimes I might think that I am ready for the promises, I might still have some learning to do. Give me the peace that surpasses all understanding, in knowing that you are always on time, that you have plans for me that I can not comprehend, and that you will never leave or forsake me in these seasons of my life. Lord, I want to take the time to thank you for the seasons of waiting, because I know that the seasons of waiting are because you love me and that you want to protect me. Abba Father, please help me to draw close to you in these times and to stand on your Word when I might feel weary. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

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