Transformed by the Desert Experience

Have you ever felt as if you were all alone in this world? Nobody understood what was going through your mind or the experiences that you were encountering? It seems that you have entered into a period of God’s silence that seems to go on forever. The cry of your heart is “Where are you God?” “Why have you forsaken me?” “How long will you allow this to happen?”
What is next after this time of silence? Is it a wilderness that stretches our trust? Is it a punishment or a test? Is it abandonment or a preparation for something wonderful in store for us? Is it God’s judgment or His infinite kindness that helps us grow spiritually mature? There are times of difficulty that seem like a “‘dark night of the soul.” However, this is also when we grow deeper in faith, and we are refined of hindrances, and gain the fragrance of Jesus by the fruit of the Spirit.
This time that you go through is a desert experience. Each person encounters his or her own personal struggle. No journey is identical for each person, but each individual desert experience produces the same result in every person. When God deals with us, His purpose is growth, maturity, and preparation. And, it always involves death to self. God will draw us into a desert experience with Him to give us the opportunity to grow to die to self, to learn to trust Him or to gain more insight into His ways.
God has put a blueprint of His divine purpose in each individual. This blueprint was imprinted in your spirit before you were ever born. God never deviates from His plan in order to bring it to complete manifestation. But everyone has to go through these formative years of growing and maturing. This is the “desert experience.” This is where your calling is redefined and your character is refined.
Are we willing to be changed? Do we want to go further? Perhaps the desert is the place for us. Don’t be afraid, it is a road that many have followed in Christ. Just remember that He will never leave you and does not forget his promises.
My reason for writing this book is to encourage those of you who are experiencing this dry season in your life. I want you to know that the divine purpose that God has ordered for your life will be completed. God wants you to see and understand that where you are in life and what you are experiencing in your life is not going to destroy you. You will exit from your desert with a redefined call and a refined character.
You are not alone, but God your Father is right there with you. He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us, but will always be present with us.
In the spiritual life, the desert experience is a time of preparation and deepening of our life with the Lord.