Have you ever found yourself in a spiritual desert?

I know I have and it wasn’t always a pretty journey.

Lets rewind for a minute…

On December 16th 2023, one of my best friends since high school passed away. I was devastated and feeling lost after it happened. In the last two weeks of December, I had to do a serious spiritual fast that caused me to be unavailable to people on most days. I took a personal leave from work to clear my mind. Some days were just spent in solitude with my laptop & God. I spent mornings doing my daily routine of reading my devotionals and the daily scriptures always applied to the current situation I was facing. The more consistent I became in reading His Word, the more I could feel God shifting me. He was showing me things and even though there are still some things I still don’t understand, I find comfort in knowing everything is falling in place. That’s the thing about the universe: one door closes, five more open. We make the mistake of stressing over things we have no control over instead of enjoying life and the fact that its a blessing to be alive. We make the mistake of letting fear make us feel small putting our dreams in a small box when God meant for the dream to be bigger than we envisioned. It’s bigger than what you’re imagining.

The Book of Psalms is a part of my current daily devotional, and I must say this is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In my wilderness, I came across Psalm 29 and a verse stuck out to me because I felt it instantly as soon as the words marinated in me.

The voice of The Lord shakes the wilderness.

Psalm 29:8

This simple line was a gentle reminder that God is here with me every step that I take. When a person gets lost in their own spiritual wilderness, they search for their own understanding to get out, trying to avoid tests and things out of their comfort zones.  I was that  person. I had to surrender to God as he shows me constantly that nothing is too hard for him to handle. I love myself enough to let go and walk freely. I had to search for God in the wilderness and the darkness not because he didn’t love me, but because there are tests I had to pass (in the darkness) in order to handle my winning season that is waiting for me ahead.

If you’re in a spiritual desert, I encourage you to read about Elijah and his journey through spiritual wilderness. 1 Kings 19 is an unexpected story about the life of a prophet. Elijah spent years as serving as God’s appointed messenger. He’s been fed by ravens during a famine (1 Kings 17:2-6), witnessed the LORD raise a boy from the dead (1 Kings 17:22-24), and is just coming off a fresh victory over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).

Spiritual wilderness is necessary for the breakthroughs God is breaking for you.

God is working it out for you.

Walk into your destiny. 

In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye.

–Deuteronomy 32:10

Until next time, 

Zip.