The Wilderness You Cannot Skip

Ecclesiastes reminds us that life moves in seasons. “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven… a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1–4). Just as nature follows an appointed rhythm winter, spring, summer, and autumn, our lives also move according to seasons we do not control.

When winter comes, we cannot pray it away. No amount of wishing can force spring to arrive early. Winter must run its course. In the same way, there are seasons in our lives that cannot be rushed, avoided, or altered by willpower alone. They must be endured.

I often wonder if this is why so many of us encounter what I call the wilderness season.

The wilderness is a season marked by loss, silence, and waiting. It is lonely. This is where familiar comforts fall away relationships you leaned on, laughter that once came easily, opportunities you believed were secure. People who once celebrated you may no longer see you. You can be present in rooms and still feel invisible.

It is cold. You may live among family, even sleep beside a spouse, yet feel unseen and unheard. Love may exist in theory, but you cannot feel its warmth. Presence remains, but connection feels distant.

And it is frightening. The wilderness is scary because there is no timeline. You don’t know when it will end. You pray, you hope, you count the days yet the season lingers. You begin to ask hard questions, not because you lack faith, but because you are human.

This is often a season of dryness. And while it is natural to desire the best in life stability, healthy relationships, fulfilled purpose, meaningful work—we must accept that some seasons are inevitable. We do not choose when it rains, and we cannot force the heavens to open during a drought.

God, in His sovereignty, governs times and seasons. He decides when one ends and another begins. There are moments when dryness is necessary when plans wither, doors close, and what once felt alive grows quiet. In those moments, you may wonder where God is, especially when you need Him most.

But just as time does not pause for our emotions, the seasons of life continue according to divine order. The wilderness is not punishment, it is process. And though it feels endless while you are in it, no season lasts forever.

If you find yourself in the wilderness, take heart, this season is not a mistake. What feels like absence is often preparation. God does some of His deepest work in hidden places, where applause is gone and strength must come from Him alone. The wilderness strips, but it also refines. It empties, but it makes room.

Hold on to this truth: seasons change because God has already ordained their end. “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). You may not see the beauty yet, but it is forming beneath the surface. Stay yielded. Stay faithful. The same God who allowed the wilderness is the One who will lead you out right on time.