Do you like road trips? The truth of the matter is, I do not. That’s because I would like to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible! We live in South Carolina, but our families are in Miami. Every time we plan to visit our beloved hometown, I beg my husband to put up the cash for airline tickets. The alternative is 12 hours in a car packed with suitcases and two bickering children. No, thank you! Just get me to my destination as quickly as possible!

The Israelites were no different. No sooner had God rescued them from Egypt than they got distracted by their hardships. They wandered the desert for 40 years before they were ready to enter their new home.

You see, we want to get to our destination as quickly as possible, but God cares about the journey.

Maybe you’ve never wandered a literal desert before, but you can likely relate to feeling stuck in a barren land, facing what feels like insurmountable odds.

I felt that way during the season of life when I was looking for a job. I had become a stay-at-home mom by accident. We had moved to a new city just as I found out I was pregnant, and, well, unfortunately, most businesses were not keen on hiring a pregnant lady.

We moved again during my second pregnancy, and at that point, it seemed easier to stay at home with my babies than work somewhere outside the home.

After a while, finances were tight! I knew I needed to find a job where I could contribute financially, but all I heard were rejections or silence. I wondered why God had forgotten me and my family. I worked a lot of odd jobs with seemingly no direction and no prospects for growth. Our debt grew, and my husband and I felt despair. How would we get out of this? How would we provide for a young family?

In John 16, Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” It sounds bleak, doesn’t it? But let’s read the verse in full: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Sometimes when we go through difficult times, we allow our circumstances to distract us from who God is and what God has promised. In the Israelites’ time of trouble, they chose grumbling. Fortunately for them—and for us—our God is not changed by our thoughts, feelings, or behaviors. He is faithful even when we are faithless. “God remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (2 Timothy 2:13).

I’ll admit I didn’t have a lot of faith in the season I described above. I felt angry and abandoned. I took my eyes off Jesus and set them squarely on our pile of bills and my unused seminary degree, collecting dust in a closet. But little by little, God began to show Himself faithful. His provision didn’t always look like I wanted (I eventually found a part-time job as an accountant—it was a small freight company, and let me tell you—this writer does not do math), but God did provide.

God had far more for our family—even if I didn’t know what it was yet. The same is true for you. If you’re still breathing, God’s not done. There’s more ahead for you.

I can’t help but believe that the greatest temptation the Israelites faced and succumbed to was making themselves the center of the story. We want to place ourselves at the center of the story with main character energy—our pain, our hearts, our desires, our plans.

But it is God who is at the center and it is we who orbit around Him. He created us and made us in His image, not the other way around.

Just as God used the wilderness to transform Israel, God can use the wilderness to transform you into someone who can focus on God—on God’s goodness, holiness, and faithfulness.

Satan may use the wilderness to distract us. But for those of us who persevere, God uses the wilderness to help us grow spiritually strong—not as a punishment, but as a refinement. As a way to shed distractions and focus intently on God and the person He is forming us to be.

We can even rejoice in our afflictions because through these trials we are made mature in our faith.

In your wilderness, remember Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” We can be our full and honest selves before God. We come as we are, but we come remembering who He is. God is faithful. God is wise. God has a plan. God is our hope.

We can now walk through the wilderness expectantly, knowing God will act.

Adapted from A Way in the Wilderness by Kristel Acevedo. ©2025 by Kristel Acevedo. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press. www.ivypress.com.

Listen today in your wilderness to John 16!

Enjoy our conversation today with Kristel Acevedo!