Encouragement in the Wilderness

This past week, I led a retreat in my home for a cohort of women leaders who are serving in the nonprofit world. We had a great time as we looked at Psalm 63 and the implications for those of us who lead. We had great conversations around what it means to lead when you’re in the wilderness. 

The wilderness, throughout the scriptures, is the landscape where God often does His deepest work. It is also the place where we often encounter the presence of Christ. Jesus spoke to Hagar in the wilderness when she was fleeing Sarah (Genesis 16). God encountered Moses through a burning bush when he was in the wilderness (Exodus 3:2-5). The LORD met Elijah when he was fleeing Jezebel (I Kings 19:12-13). 

Every believer will spend time in the wilderness at some point in their life. Sometimes, God leads us into the wilderness because He offers us an invitation to change. Sometimes, we flee to the wilderness because of the choices of others. Sometimes, we land in the wilderness because of our own foolish choices. Hosea’s wife spent time in the wilderness.

God asked the prophet Hosea in the Old Testament to marry a prostitute. Wild! I know, right?! She was continually unfaithful to Hosea as an illustration of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. However, tucked within this crazy drama are God’s words in Hosea 2:14-15, where God says, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and I will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.” 

Several phrases from these verses bring encouragement for us when we’re in a wilderness season.

I will allure her. When there are things in our lives that aren’t in our best interest, God may allure us into the wilderness. He is the one that invites us to the wilderness for the purpose of transformation. If you are in the wilderness, be assured, God may have invited you there. However, He doesn’t abandon you. His presence goes into the wilderness with you.

I will speak tenderly to her.  In the wilderness, God Himself has a tender conversation with us. I love the word “tenderly” here. God doesn’t invite us into the wilderness to give us a scolding lecture. He invites us so that He may tenderly point out that some areas of our life might not be working. It’s often in the wilderness that we realize a relationship is not helping us, or our busy schedule is no longer working. In the wilderness, God invites us to change. 

I will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. The word “Achor” here means “trouble”. God uses the trouble we face in the wilderness as an invitation to change. The trouble becomes a door of hope. The picture painted here is of a person walking from trouble through a door where there is hope and goodness on the other side. 

Friend, if you are in the wilderness. Don’t waste your time there. Consider the following questions. Has God invited me here? Are there things in my life no longer working? How might I walk through the door of transformation towards hope? 

Don’t forget to register for the BFF conference. It’s right around the corner and I guarantee you will leave encouraged! 

We’re only a couple weeks away from the launch of Cultivating Deeper Connections in a Lonely World.  Please be in prayer that God will use this book beyond what I can imagine. 

This week on The Connected Mom, we’re talking with Jill Savage about letting go and transitioning into an empty nest well. I know many of you are sending kids off to college. This is a great episode for you to listen to as you send them off.