God is always growing us. He desires us to be mature in Christ and that that maturity is reflected in everyday relationships.

With that in mind, I have been teaching on adult development and the stages of faith with greater frequency. Regardless of what source you grab on these topics, they all have a similar life experience that is described in various ways: 

• the wall
• the dark night
• wilderness experiences
• seasons of disorientation
• boundary times involving loss, grief, and tremendous upheaval.

These all refer to those tough seasons of life. They can last days, months, years, or even entires swaths of our lives. 

We also know from Scripture, biographies, and our own lives that these seasons of disorientation are essential for both our own formation and for ministry fulfillment. God often took his followers, even his own Son, deep into the wilderness for deeply redemptive purposes. The Gospels and Acts are replete with adversity as the gospel is proclaimed and lived out.

This is the way God has created the redemptive process. We may not like it, but our loving, wise Father has designed it so.  Plainly, without adversity, we simply do not grow to full maturity. Further, there is an aspect of following in the Jesus’ and the Apostle’s ministry that requires suffering for ministry fulfillment. 

I want to invite us to some deeper pondering on this topic. Here are some questions for you to consider:

First, let’s consider this for our own formation:

 If wilderness is a keen place of God’s redemptive work, would it not be wise to create our own seasons of wilderness? This is akin to following Jesus into desolate places for periods of time. 

How would you imagine doing that?

Why is this essential? I have been reading from a commentary on the Gospels and the author makes the observation that public ministry fosters our false identity. In public there is much performance and people are watching. We can craft a public self.* 

In Solitude that is all removed. Thus, the necessity of solitude to allow the Father to speak to us and foster our true identity. Identity is received from God, not self-crafted. We all need to hear the Father’s words to us of his naming us, calling us, and pouring his love out upon us. This is our true identity and allows us to move back into the public arena to truly give our life away to others. Without this orientation, we look to others for that which must come from the Father alone. 

Spend some time reflecting on this dynamic for yourself.

One more personal formation consideration for those seasons when we are not in control. Life happens to us. Things get hard, dark, confusing. 

How can self-induced wilderness times prepare us for life-induced wilderness? How might we prepare our hearts to remain open toward God – aware and responsive to his presence and redemptive activity –  in these hard times? 

When will you intentionally follow Jesus into solitude? How will you craft your own wilderness?

Second, for ministry fulfillment:

How is God shaping you to companion others through these seasons of wilderness?

Let’s look at a harder one. Is it possible that being in such a desolate place in life could be a larger,

persistent reality for some people? Mother Teresa is famously to have testified that for years of her life she felt God was absent, that there was no experienced consolation.  How would we care for someone who is in such a state? How does the love and overarching goodness of God fit into such a wilderness?

As caregivers, what is called forth from us and required of us to companion others in these seasons?

The same principle holds true: We cannot lead people where we ourselves have not been. If I have not learned to hear the Father’s love, how do I guide others to that? If I have not learned to walk with God in dark, wilderness times, how can I walk with others in theirs?

These are some weighty matters. May you have the grace to find the space and place to weigh in on them with Father, Son, and Spirit.

Please, do share your thoughts. Thanks much.

*John DelHousaye, Fourfold Gospel: A Formational Commentary on Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; Pickwick Publishing 2020; Volume 1, p. 341-342.