Psalm 143:7-9

Some people enjoy being pathless—free spirits, if you will, riding the wind. Yeah, that’s not me. I wouldn’t say that I am a planner, but I do like to know where I’m going. I like to know my actions have meaning and purpose. In fact, it is when life feels like it is at a standstill and I am in a holding pattern that I struggle the most.

I remember such a time when my husband and I were involved in ministry, knowing we were called to pastor but seemingly no closer to it than the day we first knew we were called. As someone once said, God calls you well enough in advance to train you so that you are ready when the time comes. Ten years had passed since we first received the call, and it seemed as though we were no closer to seeing it actually come to pass. We were in God’s boot camp, so to speak, and it felt like we would never graduate! God’s testing ground is not for the faint of heart, for you will be tested and tried to see if you can withstand the pressure while keeping your character intact.

Consider what the Scriptures say about Joseph:

“They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭105‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.105.18-19.NLT

I have painfully learned that God’s timing and our timing are two very different things.

Interestingly, it was during this season that a minister with a prophetic gift called us out during a service and, in a nut shell, told us that although it seemed as if we had been going around the same mountain without making any progress, what we didn’t see was that we were actually ascending the mountain with each pass. He then went on to say that God had called us to be pastors of our own work and that this was going to happen soon!

Little did we know the adventure God had in store for us after this. Yet here we are—28 years of pastoring—and still standing at our post. There is no way we would have been ready for what we faced in the years that followed without the preparation of those wilderness years.

The wilderness is where we are stripped of every inclination to do things in our own strength. It is where we learn absolute dependence upon God, for what lies ahead can only be navigated with and through Him.

David story, as well as many others throughout Scripture, reveal this need for patient endurance so that we can withstand the tests of time. In the words of James, as written in the Amplified Bible:

“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭AMPC‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/8/jas.1.2-4.AMPC

When God builds something, it is built to last. He is the Master Builder and Architect. As Psalm 127:1 states:

“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭127‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.127.1.NLT

We only pass this way once. Let’s make our lives count by submitting to God’s direction and purpose for our lives. In David’s words: “Show me where to walk, for I give myself to You.”