Several years ago, my wife and I got lost on a hike. I’d like to say it was in America’s rugged mountains, but it was only in an Indiana state park. What should have taken an hour became a seven-hour trek. As dusk approached, the exhaustion, worry, and anger set in. We didn’t bring food and shared a water bottle, so we were also thirsty and hungry. Despite my clear lack of navigational skills, we eventually stumbled on a way out and returned to our car.

Our experience was more embarrassing than dangerous, yet being lost in the woods gave me a picture of how we sometimes experience the Christian life. Fears and frustration can mount when God doesn’t remove us from a confusing or discouraging situation. We wonder how we got here and if we’ll ever get out.

My wife and I missed the beauty of the woods because we were focused on finding the exit. Similarly, it’s hard to recognize what God is doing when we just want to escape a trial. But when Christians walk through the valley of deep darkness or wander in the wilderness, it’s not because God has abandoned or failed us.

His plans in taking his people through the desert are “to do [us] good in the end” (Deut. 8:16). The trials and troubles of the wilderness are the very place God intends to grow our faith in him and prove his faithfulness to us.

God’s Aim in the Wilderness

When God rescued Israel out of Egypt, they were excited to leave the bondage behind and enter a land overflowing with fruitfulness. However, it didn’t take long for them to discover they were walking through a wasteland.

Instead of leading them directly to the promised land, God took Israel on a long, circuitous route. They needed it. Those 40 years stretched and shaped their faith. The journey revealed what was in their hearts that needed to be rooted out (Deut. 8:2).

God allowed them to go hungry so they’d know it was he who fed them (v. 3). When God protected or provided for them, it was clear he was the Shepherd who defended and cared for them (v. 15). He carried them like children, tended to their needs, and assured them of his love (1:31). They discovered more about God’s character, including his unending commitment to his people.

As Moses looked back over their years of wandering, it became clear that Israel’s detour was for their good. The wilderness wasn’t a deviation from God’s good plan; it was his plan. Their waiting taught them to trust God. The dangers created greater dependence on him. In the wilderness, the Israelites learned that God loved them.

Respond Rightly in the Desert

After Samuel anointed David as God’s next king (1 Sam. 16), David had to wait several years until the promise became a reality (2 Sam. 2). He was forced into exile in a dangerous wilderness. For a decade, he fled from cave to cave, constantly looking over his shoulder and running from threats.

The wilderness wasn’t a deviation from God’s good plan; it was his plan.

David waited, but God wasn’t delayed. He was teaching, preparing, and revealing himself to David. The waiting equipped David to shepherd God’s people when he finally became king. David had to learn to wait on God. As he wrote in one of his wilderness psalms, “I will wait for your name, for it is good” (Ps. 52:9).

The wilderness didn’t push David away from God; it pulled him toward God. He wrote, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (63:1). This waiting on and seeking God in his psalms looks like lamenting his trial and pain, running to God as his refuge, asking for help or deliverance, giving thanks for what God had done, and meditating on God’s promises that sustained him.

Through David’s troubles, God’s trustworthiness was proven, and David’s trust was strengthened. Out of his time in the wilderness, David penned some of his most beloved psalms of prayer and praise. Rather than wasting his waiting, David chose to worship his way through the wilderness.

Don’t Waste Your Wilderness

The more we familiarize ourselves with God’s purposes in our suffering, the more prepared we are for it and the better perspective we have in it (1 Pet. 4:12). Following Jesus doesn’t mean we’re exempt from pain or problems. But God promises to be with us and to work for us in everything (Rom. 8:28–29).

The more we familiarize ourselves with God’s purposes in our suffering, the more prepared we are for it and the better perspective we have in it.

We know this is true because the same Jesus who walked through the wilderness of temptation but never sinned was exiled on our behalf at the cross (Matt. 4:1–11). The Father didn’t just send his Son to save us from our sins. Jesus’s death also secures every good and gracious gift for his people (Rom. 8:32). That includes the promises that God is always with us and working for our good in all things.

Christ’s death also assures us of our ultimate hope: One day, the wilderness will be no more (Isa. 35:6–7; 41:18; 43:19–20). God’s new garden-city will come down as heaven meets earth, and the desert will become an oasis (Rev. 21:1–22:5). Christ’s glorious presence will fill all things, including us as his redeemed people.

As we wait for that day, we do so knowing that God has us where we are “to do [us] good in the end,” as he did for Israel (Deut. 8:16). All God’s purposes in our struggles and suffering flow out of his wisdom, goodness, and love.

Instead of resisting the wilderness, run to God as your refuge. Wait and watch to see how he’ll reveal himself to you or work for you. God won’t let your wilderness be wasted.