“So I am going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.”
— Hosea 2:14, NLT
The In-Between Space
There are seasons in life that feel like spiritual standstills.
The doors don’t open. The prayers don’t get answered. The next step remains unclear. You’re not where you were, but you’re not where you hoped to be either. It’s disorienting. Quiet. Lonely.
This is the wilderness.
We tend to think of wilderness seasons as wasted time—places of exile, silence, or discipline. But in Scripture, the wilderness is rarely a punishment. More often, it is preparation. The in-between space where something new is being formed—not in the spotlight, but in the shadows.
And if we learn to notice, we’ll begin to see that what feels barren may actually be a birthplace. In God’s hands, the wilderness becomes a womb.
Biblical Reflection: The Pattern of Wilderness
The wilderness is a central motif in the biblical narrative:
Moses meets God in the burning bush in the wilderness (Exodus 3).
Israel spends 40 years there, being shaped into a people (Deut. 8:2).
David is refined in desert caves before becoming king (1 Samuel 22).
Elijah hears God not in wind or fire, but in a whisper in the wilderness (1 Kings 19).
John the Baptist prepares the way in the wilderness (Mark 1:3).
Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness before beginning His public ministry (Matthew 4:1).
Over and over again, God leads His people to the wilderness to form them, not to forsake them.
In Hosea 2, God speaks of Israel as a bride, alluring her into the wilderness not to punish, but to speak tenderly to her—to renew the covenant, restore intimacy, and prepare her heart for love.
The wilderness is where identities are clarified, attachments are severed, and false gods are exposed. It is where the soul is quiet enough to finally hear again.
A Sacred Image: The Hidden Work of the Womb
We often associate the wilderness with emptiness—but biblically, it’s more like a womb than a wasteland.
A womb is quiet. Dark. Hidden from view. No one applauds what happens inside it. But in that secret space, life is being knit together by unseen hands. Cells multiply. Hearts begin to beat. A new creation is formed.
The womb doesn’t rush. It waits. And that waiting is essential to the forming.
In our spiritual lives, there are womb-like seasons—times when we feel buried, delayed, or overlooked. But God is not idle. He is forming something deep within: character, endurance, vision, and dependence.
The wilderness slows us down. The womb forms us.
Spiritual Practice: Embracing the Wilderness
This week, embrace a practice of sacred waiting through the Wilderness Journal.
Wilderness Journal Practice
Set aside 15 minutes of uninterrupted space—somewhere quiet.
Reflect on a current or past season that feels like wilderness: a job transition, grief, unanswered prayers, spiritual dryness.
Write honestly:
What do you feel?
What do you fear?
What do you hope?
Then, shift your lens. Ask God:
“What might You be forming in me?”
“What needs to die so something new can live?”
Close by writing a prayer of surrender. Not a plea to escape the wilderness—but a willingness to be formed in it.
Formation, Not Frustration
We live in a world that tells us if we’re not moving forward, we’re falling behind.
But the Kingdom of God grows differently.
God is not in a rush with your soul. His timelines are never wasted. If you’re in a season where nothing seems to be happening, trust that everything is happening beneath the surface.
The wilderness doesn’t mean you’re lost.
The silence doesn’t mean you’re abandoned.
The delay doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
“He led you through the wilderness… to humble you and to test you for your own good.”
— Deuteronomy 8:16, NLT
God is preparing you for something your future will require.
Reflection Questions
Where in your life do you feel like you’re in a wilderness season?
What is being stripped away in this season?
What has God revealed about Himself to you in hidden places?
Can you name a time in your past when a wilderness season prepared you for a new beginning?
Closing Prayer
God of the desert and the womb,
When life feels barren, remind me You are near.
When I feel forgotten, whisper my name again.
I give You my wilderness—
not as a problem to be solved,
but as a place where You are forming something holy.
May I trust Your process,
and yield to Your pace.
Amen.
Next Up: “In the Ordinary – Where Breakfast and Broom Closets Are Holy”
In the next post, we’ll discover how sacred noticing transforms the mundane—how God shows up in breakfasts by the sea, broom closets at work, and the daily routines we often dismiss. Holiness isn’t always found in the grand. It’s usually hidden in the ordinary.
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