Walking in the Desert

Have you ever felt like you were just walking around in the desert? You may feel alone, tired, thirsty, or that you’re just out in the desolate wasteland wandering around with no help in sight? You’re not alone. There are many people who know what you’re going through, and this isn’t new to God. The children of Israel felt the same way… because they actually DID wander in the desert… for forty years!

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I’m not saying your wandering will last for forty years. It might feel like that long, but what I am saying is that quite often we find ourselves wandering around wondering how we got in this state.

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 NIV

God has a plan and a purpose for all of us. He designed our life path especially for each of us individually. No one’s path is like another. They may parallel sometimes, but they are never alike. And they are always, always for good and not evil. God’s plans are good, you can trust that. So what about the times we find ourselves walking in the desert? How does that happen?

Many times we put ourselves there. Just like the Israelites, we disobey what God has told us to do and it puts us in a state of wandering around in desolation, while we think about what we’ve done. It’s a sort of Divine Timeout. I’m not fond of being put in timeout by God, but while I’m there I try to learn from it and hopefully not repeat what I did to get put there in the first place! But what about when you absolutely know that you’ve done everything right and you still find yourself walking in the desert?

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Lovelies, that is when you know that you have become a very dangerous item to the enemy. When you are in the midst of serving God, doing what He has called you to do, all of a sudden you seem to slip through the hourglass into the desert. With sand being whipped in your face, you find you are walking in the desert of trials. It is then that you must square your shoulders, adjust your Armor, raise your Shield, hold tight to your Sword, and above all, focus more fully on the Lord!

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ~Ephesians 6:14-17

Your situation cannot become a distraction, because you are called and anointed girlfriends. You are chosen by the Most High God. The enemy doesn’t like that one bit, and when you start moving forward into your calling, when you realize who you are in Christ, you become a dangerous threat to the enemy. Don’t for one minute let your guard down because if you allow one millisecond of distraction into your thinking, that leaves just enough room for the enemy to attack. And believe me, he will.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ~Ephesians 6:11-12

The enemy will use whatever tactic he can to distract you and trip you up. He will even use other people. If he can cause you doubt, worry, hurt your feelings, or even make you wonder, then you’ve been distracted from your calling and may miss a Divine Appointment.

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There are many today who are walking around with sand in their shoes. They are so focused on what they perceive as an offense done to them by someone else that they are causing others to become distracted. It is time for us to shake the sand and dust from our shoes and move on! Count it all joy sisters, that we are in the trials that we are. Because we are all fighting them! But they are spiritual, not physical. Wipe the sand out of your eyes and see. God is calling you out of the desert and into the Promised Land! Will you step out?

Shelley Wilburn

Shelley Wilburn has been writing since the age of twelve. She loves stories and adventures, and often finds herself getting into mischief with any one of her six grandchildren. She has written several articles and devotionals over the years for various newspapers, women's magazines, and newsletters. She has also co-authored devotionals. Shelley began writing full-time in 2012 after being healed of over 40 years of depression and anxiety. Using her love of writing, and wearing mismatched socks, Shelley has developed a unique ministry of encouraging others using biblical truths and stories from her own personal life. When not writing, you can find Shelley and her husband of over 30 years, D.A. zipping down the road in their newest adventure-maker, a bright orange, Mustang convertible Shelley has laughingly dubbed The Pony.