“Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness…” Deuteronomy 8:2 (NIV)
Last year held a little bit of everything. There were moments of joy and moments of challenge, seasons of growth and seasons that stretched us. Some things moved forward, others didn’t move as quickly as we hoped. As we step into a new year together, many of us are still asking the same honest question: “God, what were You doing in all of that?”
Some prayers didn’t get answered the way we hoped. Some seasons dragged on longer than expected. Some of us are carrying things into this new year that we wanted to leave behind. Somewhere in the middle of all that, it’s easy to ask, “God… what was that?”
Scripture is full of wilderness seasons. Israel wandered for forty years before the Promised Land. Jesus Himself was led into the wilderness before His public ministry ever began. The wilderness isn’t God abandoning His people—it’s often where He does His deepest work.
The wilderness exposes what we trust when everything familiar gets stripped away. It slows us down. It humbles us. It reminds us that we are not in control.
Here’s the truth we need to carry into this new year: God doesn’t waste seasons like that. What felt like delay may have been protection. What felt like silence may have been shaping. What felt like loss may have been pruning.
Jesus said, “Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2). Pruning is uncomfortable—but it is never pointless.
The goal isn’t to forget the wilderness or pretend it didn’t hurt. The goal is to let God redeem it. Maybe this year isn’t about rushing ahead. Maybe it’s about carrying forward what God taught us when life slowed down.
Don’t waste the wilderness. God isn’t finished with what He started there.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28