Desert Lessons – What the wilderness still teaches us

 

The wilderness. It’s that place we all know too well. You’ve probably been there in your own life—feeling dry, barren, and like everything you’ve trusted in is gone. But let’s stop for a moment and think about the wilderness from a different angle. Maybe it’s not just a place of emptiness. What if it’s the very place where God wants to teach us, refine us, and prepare us for something bigger?

Israel’s journey through the wilderness is the perfect example of this. When we look back at the Israelites wandering for 40 years, we might think, “That’s a long time to be lost!” But honestly, I think they were more found in that wilderness than they ever were in Egypt. The Hebrew word for wilderness is midbar (מִדְבָּר), and here’s the cool part: it comes from the root dabar (דָּבַר), which means "to speak." So, in a very real way, the wilderness is a place where God speaks to us. It’s like He gets our attention in the quiet, in the emptiness, in the places where there’s no noise and no distractions. It’s when we’re forced to listen that we finally hear Him.

Think about it—Israel was surrounded by nothing but desert. And that’s exactly where God met them. It wasn’t in a palace, or a grand temple, but in the middle of nowhere. That’s a powerful image, don’t you think? Sometimes, when we feel the most alone, when it feels like there’s nothing around us but dry land, that’s when God shows up the most. It’s in those desert places that He speaks the loudest.

God told Israel in Deuteronomy 8:2 that He led them through the wilderness to humble them, to test them, and to know what was in their hearts. The word for "humble" here is anah (עָנָה), which means to bring down, to afflict, or to cause someone to be low. It sounds harsh, but really, it’s like the wilderness is a place that breaks down the pride, the self-sufficiency, the “I’ve got this” attitude. Israel had to learn to depend on God for everything. And let’s be honest, we all have moments where we think we can handle everything on our own. But the wilderness reminds us that we can’t. We need God.

The testing, the refining, that’s what nâsâh (נָסָה) means in this context. It’s not about proving us wrong or failing us—it’s about purifying our hearts. Think about a blacksmith putting metal through the fire. It’s not to destroy it, but to make it stronger, to burn away the impurities. That’s what the wilderness does. It burns away our stubbornness, our need to control, our unwillingness to trust. And when we come through it, we’re stronger, better, and more dependent on God. God didn’t just bring Israel into the wilderness to punish them—He did it to prepare them for what was coming next.

It’s easy to think that God abandoned Israel in the wilderness. I mean, they had no food, no water—no real “comforts.” But that’s when God showed up with the manna. The word manna (מָן) means “What is it?” because the people had no idea what it was at first. It wasn’t what they expected, but it was exactly what they needed. God didn’t give them what they thought they wanted, but He gave them what would sustain them. We can’t always understand why God gives us what He does, but we can trust that it’s exactly what we need for the journey. Sometimes, we don’t get the answers we want, but we get exactly what we need to keep going. And that’s enough.

In John 6:31-35, Jesus calls Himself the true manna—the bread of life. Just as God provided for Israel in the wilderness, Jesus provides for us spiritually. When we’re hungry for meaning, for peace, for hope, Jesus is the bread that satisfies. In the wilderness, Israel was learning that God is the provider. They had to depend on Him every day. And honestly, don’t we all need to learn that? We want to have it all figured out, but sometimes God is saying, “I’ve got this. You just need to trust Me.”

But let’s be real here: even in the wilderness, Israel struggled with trust. They grumbled. They complained. They even said, “We wish we were back in Egypt, at least there we had food!” In Exodus 17:2-7, they were thirsty and complained to Moses. They said, “Is the LORD among us or not?” They doubted that God was even with them. How many times do we do the same thing? When things aren’t going our way, when we feel dry and empty, we wonder if God is really there. But the truth is, He’s never left. He was with Israel in the wilderness, and He’s with us in our wilderness too. Just because we don’t always feel it doesn’t mean He isn’t working.

And you know what? Even though Israel complained, God still provided for them. He brought water from a rock. I can’t help but think about that moment. It must’ve been pretty wild to see water gush out of a rock in the middle of the desert. But that’s what God does. He provides in ways we never expected, in places we never thought possible. Even when we’re at our lowest, when we feel like there’s no hope, God is still working. The wilderness doesn’t have to be a place of defeat—it can be a place of miraculous provision.

In Psalm 107:35-37, it says that God can turn the wilderness into pools of water and dry land into springs. Even the driest, most barren places in our lives can become places of life and renewal when God is at work. The wilderness might feel empty, but it’s not the end of the story. God is using that dry season to bring new life, to refresh us, and to strengthen us.

One thing the wilderness also does is reveal our hearts. In Numbers 11:4-6, the Israelites start longing for Egypt. They talk about the food they had there and forget all the pain they were in. It’s funny how we romanticize the past when we’re in the middle of a tough time, right? We think things were better before, even when they weren’t. But the wilderness isn’t about going back to what we had before—it’s about moving forward into what God has for us. The Israelites had to learn that they couldn’t go back to Egypt, and we have to learn that too. The past is gone, and the wilderness is preparing us for the next chapter.

In Matthew 4:1-11, we see Jesus in His own wilderness experience. He’s led into the desert by the Holy Spirit and tempted by the devil. But Jesus doesn’t fall for it. He responds with Scripture: “It is written…” That’s such a huge lesson for us. When we’re in the wilderness, when the enemy tries to make us doubt or question, we have to respond with God’s Word. It’s like Jesus is showing us the ultimate weapon to use in the desert—His Word. When everything around us feels like a battle, the Bible is our defense.

And just like Moses at the burning bush, we can have encounters with God in the wilderness. In Exodus 3:1-6, Moses is just doing his regular job, tending sheep, when he sees a bush that’s on fire but not burning up. That moment changed everything for him. Sometimes, it’s in the wilderness, when we least expect it, that God shows up in powerful ways. Moses probably never thought he’d meet God in the desert, but that’s where it happened.

The wilderness isn’t the end of the story; it’s a place of transformation. When we come out of the wilderness, we’re different. We’ve been changed. The Hebrew word tob (טוֹב) means “good,” and I believe that’s what God is working on in us. The wilderness is part of the process of making us into the good, strong, faithful people He created us to be. When we rely on God in the wilderness, we come out stronger, more refined, more like Christ.

So next time you find yourself in the wilderness, don’t give up. Don’t let the dry seasons fool you. God is at work. He’s teaching, refining, providing, and leading you to something greater. The wilderness isn’t a punishment; it’s a place of growth. Trust Him in the process. He’ll bring you through.