Formed in the Wilderness: Why Waiting Isn't Wasted

There’s one thing we all go through but almost no one enjoys: waiting.
Whether it’s a long line at a theme park, a stalled life transition, or an unanswered prayer—we live in a world that resents the slow, in-between moments. We want resolution. We want clarity. We want to move on.
But what if waiting isn’t a detour?
What if it’s the place where God does his deepest work?

The Space Between
Somewhere between where you were and where you want to be is what the Bible often calls “the wilderness.” It’s that disorienting middle ground where you’re no longer where you started, but you're not yet where you're going.
And it’s in this space that God forms people.
In the book of Exodus, God leads the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt toward the Promised Land. But instead of taking them the direct route—a journey that could have taken just a few weeks—he leads them through the wilderness for forty years.
Why? Because freedom without formation is fragile. The people weren’t ready. They thought they were. They left Egypt “ready for battle,” but God knew that if they faced resistance too soon, they’d go running back to the comfort of captivity.
We can relate. We think we’re ready too—ready for that relationship, that promotion, that dream. But God, in his mercy, sometimes slows the pace not to punish us, but to prepare us.

The Wilderness is a Place of Presence
It’s easy to assume that if we’re waiting, something’s gone wrong. That God is distant. That we’ve failed. But Scripture tells a different story.
The wilderness is where:

• Moses encountered God in a burning bush
• Jesus was strengthened through fasting and testing
• The early Church was ignited by the fire of the Spirit

It’s not the absence of God’s presence—it’s often where we meet him most clearly.
In Exodus, God goes before the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. He doesn’t hand them a map; he gives them himself. When the cloud moved, they moved. When it stopped, they stopped.
This wasn’t just guidance. It was formation. They had to learn to live in step with God.
And we do too.

Trading Efficiency for Intimacy
There’s a temptation to treat the wilderness as something to get through as fast as possible. But the question isn’t always how quickly can I get to the next thing? Sometimes the better question is: what is God doing in me right now?
Waiting slows us down enough to see what we would otherwise miss:

• The places where we’re still trying to control what we should surrender
• The false narratives we’re believing about ourselves or God
• The subtle ways we’ve grown numb or disengaged

In the wilderness, those layers get stripped away. And what’s left is a raw, real dependence on God—not on what we want from him, but on who he is.

Don’t Miss the Moment
If you're in a season of waiting, know this:
God hasn't abandoned you.
You're not stuck.
You're being shaped.
Ask him, What are you saying to me here? What are you forming in me now?
The wilderness may not feel productive—but it can be profoundly transformative. Because it’s not just the destination that matters.
It’s who you're becoming on the way.
And even here—especially here—God is with you.