No matter where we are in life we can cling to truth. It never changes. In a fertile garden, truth is true. In a barren wilderness, it stays the same. It’s still true. So, we want to focus on the truths that we can cling to in the wilderness of life.

Truth #1: Don’t be surprised at the wilderness.

Our 10-year-old cried as tears streamed down his face one time, “Why doesn’t God save us? Why does He only help other people?” Such strong questions for 10, but we have often asked the same thing. The Psalms are riddled with David asking similar questions. They are not new. It’s easy to look at others and see our despair, but as we’ve heard it said, “Everyone is fighting a battle we know nothing about.”

Paul warns of the dangers of comparison (1 Corinthians 10:12), and what we need to remember is that, “God’s people are a people of the wilderness.”¹ If we are choosing to live our lives as a people of God, hard times will come. So, do not be surprised at the hard times, as if something strange were happening. Rejoice, for His glory will be revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

Truth #2 The Wilderness is not the end.

A famous coach once left one school to coach at another. He got a lot of negative feedback for it, and in his reply he said some words that floored me. It fit in so well with our discussions about the wilderness of life. He said, “My calling is not built on a location. It’s built on a destination.”⁷ It is not where I am, but where I’m going. The wilderness is not the end. There is more than this. It is easy in the middle of the wilderness to look around and see the barren wasteland and feel defeated. As followers of Christ, we should feel uncomfortable, out of place, we are the “diaspora” the dispersed. This world is not our home. When we realize that it is about where we are going, then we can realize the wilderness is only for a time. (Hebrews 11:16)

Truth #3 He is enough in the wilderness. He is my enough.

When we cannot, He can.(2 Corinthians 12:9) So often we come to the end of ourselves in the wilderness, wondering how we can take another step. We may say, “Yes, God, you are enough,” but IF He does not save us or give a miracle, is He still enough? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could choose death or to worship the idol. They were clear in their answer. God could save them, BUT if He would not, He was still good and He was still God. He was enough for them, even if it cost them their earthly lives. Like these three men, God promises strength and grace in our weakness to follow Him and He is enough, even in the wilderness.

Truth #4 He is with us in the Wilderness (Even in the Silence)

We are not alone. God does not send us out to a barren land alone. He never leaves us. (Joshua 1:9) In Isaiah God promised Emmanuel, God with us. Years later, He fulfilled the next stage of that when He sent Jesus as a baby. Yet, even before Christ’s birth, God was with His people in the wilderness. (Exodus 13:21-22) After Christ’s resurrection and ascension, God was (and is) still with His people. (John 14:26) One of my favorite verses is “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for YOU ARE WITH ME.” The promise that we are never alone is a truth that holds fast whether we are on the mountain top or in the valley.

Truth is the same in the wilderness or in the plenty. David went through just about every wilderness imaginable in his life. It’s why so many people relate to the Psalms. He knew the hard, but he also knew the truth. In Psalm 119:31, he says the he will cling to His declarations, His testimonies, and His truths. It was David’s reliance on what was true, what never changed. This got him through the wilderness. Feelings lie.(Jeremiah 17:9) We may feel alone, or like we will be in the wilderness forever. We may be surprised and worry that we can’t do it, that we don’t have enough to continue on. But through it all truth is truth. One day, we’ll be able to know fully (1 Corinthians 13:12), but for now, like David, cling to these truths.

⁷ Koons, Zach. “Colorado Introduces Deion Sanders With Rousing Press Conference.” Sports Illustrated, Dec 4, 2022, https://www.si.com/college/2022/12/04/colorado-deion-sanders-introduction-press-conference.