From Waiting to Ready: How God Prepares Us in the Wilderness

The Waiting Season

As many of you know, 2020 marked the beginning of a sidelining season for me—a season that stretched far beyond what I ever expected. One year turned into two, and now, four years later, here I am. Still in my parents' basement. Still waiting. Still searching. Praying and seeking the Lord, asking where He is calling me. And still—nothing. Silence.

The Struggle in the Silence

In the waiting, I struggled. I felt lonely and insecure. Behind the scenes, I wanted to run, to escape. And many times, I did. I needed to disengage. I needed to yell at God and lament over the life I thought I was missing.

I watched from a distance as it seemed like all my friends were thriving—living it up in the city, going to parties, forming tight-knit friend groups, dating, traveling, and embracing every bit of their twenties with joy and freedom. I felt left behind, like I was stuck on the outside of a life I was supposed to be living.

I couldn’t understand why I didn’t have the things I longed for. Why would God bring me through a grand Exodus only to leave me in a desolate wilderness? Why couldn’t I be in the promised land? I know He promises life to the full, but why did I feel so desperate, so alone, and so afraid?

God’s Revelation: A Shift in Perspective

But one day, in the stillness, I felt Him press a truth on my heart: You’re not being abandoned. You’re being prepared.

God had another work to do in me. He needed me to see Him as Redeemer and Sanctifier. He called me to sit at His feet, to seek the truth—His truth about Himself, about me, about the world. Slowly, I began to realize I had been carrying burdens He never meant for me to carry. My disappointments, my insecurities, my fears—they weren’t just struggles. They were weights, holding me back from healing.

I came to Him trembling, afraid of what He would reveal. Afraid of my own sin and brokenness. But He showed me things I didn’t even realize were harming me—patterns of sin, thought cycles I couldn’t have named before. He met me with truth, but also with love. Every time, He highlighted an idol I had planted deep in my heart, something I had clung to for comfort. And every time, He asked me to tear it down.

Surrender wasn’t easy. Tears streamed down my face as I laid down everything I had. But in that place of brokenness, He met me with overwhelming love and grace. He held me when I thought I couldn’t stand.

The Injury: Surrendering to the Process

It reminded me of being injured in college. If you’ve ever been injured before, you know the feeling. At first, there’s the shock and pain of the injury itself. But often, the real pain is deeper—the realization that your season is over, or in jeopardy. You’re no longer out there with your team. No longer part of the wins, the joy, the camaraderie of the game.

In an instant, it feels like life stops. Suddenly, you’re on the sidelines, doing the painful work of rehab—stretching, foam rolling, ice baths, strength exercises. The last things you want to do. And yet, the only way forward. It’s humbling to have every weakness exposed, to rebuild the things that have always been hardest for you.

Rehab for the Soul

For so long, I couldn’t understand why God had me sitting on the sidelines of life. But now, I see it clearly—I wasn’t fit to play. I was deeply injured. I needed rehab, and I needed it badly. I needed God, every day, to do a renewing work in me. And that meant every sin and weakness had to be exposed, brought into the light, and surrendered so that the Holy Spirit could strengthen me in a new way.

Just like the Israelites, God revealed Himself to me in the wilderness. They needed their worldview reoriented. They needed daily bread, fresh revelation, and the truth of His law established in them.

Training for the Calling

And now, I see it. I wasn’t just waiting. I was training. Training and preparing for the calling He has on my life. Like Joshua sending the spies into the promised land, I, too, can see what’s up ahead.

Encouragement for You in the Wilderness

And maybe you’re in a wilderness season too. Maybe you feel sidelined, wondering when it will be your time to step back onto the field. If so, hear this—God is not just making you wait. He is making you ready.