God Is Working In The Wilderness

Part One: Conformity to Him

Sometimes, while I am walking with Jesus, I find myself in testing and pressing wilderness seasons, where the Word and the prophetic promise of Jesus don’t seem to match up to the circumstances around me. These are not times of rebellion or sin, but times that come from God’s Spirit. To be honest, I have often been taken by surprise by these wilderness times, leaving me to wonder “what is God doing?” Maybe you have experienced this too. After your Father declares His powerful promise to you, bringing identity and purpose, you suddenly find yourself in a wilderness of testing? 

Navigating the wilderness can be challenging. There is a waiting period, marked by stillness and silence. It is the space between being given a promise and seeing it fulfilled, and the transformation from our current selves to who God has called us to be. In this time, our flaws and character issues are magnified, and it can be difficult and exposing. As an analogy, God crushes us like olives to press out the oil, and this refinement leads to the fulfillment of His promises in us.

We often think that when we receive a promise from God, we are ready to step into it, but in reality, He might be sending us into a wilderness season. Throughout the Bible, we can find stories of God sending his people into the desert for testing. Jesus Himself experienced this when, in Matthew 4, He was sent by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for testing.

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; And ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’”Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.” Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭11‬ ‭

Jesus was publicly declared to be the Father’s beloved and pleasing Son. He was then sent by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tested. After He emerged, He had both a sense of dependence and power. This is a reminder that the Holy Spirit sometimes leads us into wilderness so that we may be tested and trained for our own good.

The Holy Spirit will call us to the wilderness. Rather than asking God to deliver us from it, we can ask God what He wants to teach us through it. Instead of resisting the wilderness, we can embrace the work of God there.

God works in the wilderness, and these times of testing have a purpose. By understanding this we can better persevere through difficult moments and cooperate with God’s plan for us.

The wilderness is a place of trial, silence and growth. Here, our motives and character is sharpened, the results of our work are revealed and our conformity to God’s image is formed. Thus, it becomes a place of transformation. Our spiritual growth flourishes and the fruits of the Spirit appear in our lives.

God has called us to take on His nature and character, His attributes and fruits. We are to conform to Him and depend on Him, look like Him and trust Him. He will shape us in the wilderness. We are all on a journey to become like Christ in every way – character, power and purpose. We are to clothe ourselves in the Lord Jesus and make no provision for the flesh. We are all on a journey of receiving the unique prophetic promises we individually have. It is a journey of discipleship with the seed of Christ growing in us like a tree. We may feel there is a gap between where we are and where we should be, but God will complete what He has started in us. His commitment to us reflects His own plan and the fact that our transformation is truly His idea.

The wilderness has taught me that God cares more about what He does in us than what He does through us. He’s devoted to our internal growth. External results do happen, but our intimate connection and identity with Him are much more vital. He is passionate about us and committed to completing the work of our beautification. 

When God speaks to us through prophecy, it’s as if we receive shoes that have a lot of space to grow into. There is a stretching and growth that must take place to walk in them properly. It is dependent upon our growth into His image and likeness. Our character and purity must increase in proportion to the gifting and power. God will work in the wilderness to conform us to His image. We are tested and tried for conformity to Him. The goal is that we emerge from this season looking more like Jesus. Allow the wilderness to produce Him in you! Be encouraged! Take heart! There is such a great reward produced in us as we wait and persevere. 

When we find yourself in a wilderness, we need to learn to wait on Him in prayer. Prayer is all about communion with Him. It is the act of putting our attention and affection on God. There are times when prayer is effortless, but other times it can feel like a struggle to connect. To be successful in prayer, we must cultivate patience and diligence to wait on Him.

Prayer is a two way conversation where we cast our cares upon Him, but also take His cares upon us. It is a communion of love and affection with Jesus. In prayer we often stay long enough to make our requests, but not long enough to hear His. Your prayer list is meant to get you to the prayer point: Him. Let your prayer list of “many things” lead you to the “One Thing”! Stay awhile. Remain in His presence, spend time listening to His requests and learning His heart.

Prayer is the greatest posture of humility, because in praying we communicate to God that we need Him and depend on Him. The absence of prayer signals pride. Not doing so will cause us to lose strength and make decisions unsupported by His understanding. We must learn to wait upon Him in prayer, to partner with His work in our lives.

Waiting in the wilderness subjects our flesh to the spirit. Everything about the flesh operates outside of rest and peace. The flesh is a “me, myself, and I” person. It wants it and it wants it NOW. The flesh’s actions are characterized by impatience, selfishness and lust. The enemy, too, wants instant gratification. He tempted Jesus with shortcuts, offering him power and glory without the cross. He proposed worship in exchange for promises without delay. 

The enemy and the flesh entices us with the false promise that real satisfaction can be found outside of God. We are encouraged to give in to our desires, doubt God’s power, and put our faith in His promises rather than in Him. We are urged to disregard His will and pursue immediate gratification.

The flesh works to make us weary and weak, while the spirit brings fruit that grants us strength and power. These fruits come from an intimate connection with the Vine, Jesus. Labor is done alone, requiring sweat and effort, but the fruit of the Spirit only comes through intimacy and friendship with God. The fruit of the Spirit operating in our lives, is an indication of the transformation

In stillness and quite, the flesh is pierced through and we conform to His Image. By learning to cooperate with the Spirit in the wilderness, the fruits of the spirit get cultivated in us, producing beautiful flowers in the wilderness.  The wilderness is where wild flowers of peace, rest and stillness grow.

Submitting to the wilderness teaches us staying power. Waiting in stillness and silence in God’s presence brings us to submission and starves our fleshly desires. This produces the fruits of peace, patience and perseverance in us. Just like a baker kneading dough, God works His image into us. Stillness and silence is where God works. Submit to His way. Persevere with patience and peace.

If we welcome God’s plan in the wilderness and trust in Him, we will begin to resemble Him. We will display the fruit of the Spirit: humility, love, and power. More of the world would see and experience Jesus in and through us, in the way we live and in our attitudes and actions.

As we wait in the wilderness a great question to ask Him is: What are you forming and working into me? What parts of my life are you calling into conformity to your image?

By Micah Level

How has this encouraged you? Comment below on your thoughts.