Applying the Old Testament to Your Life
3 Ways God Guides Us through Our Seasons of Wilderness
The Savior can be our guide, offer us living water, and be our companion as we endure the trials of life.
I once went on a long backpacking trip in Arizona, USA. Considering it was a 12-mile hike in the desert, you might think the first thing I remember now about the trip is the heat. But to be honest, I don’t remember much about the desert heat.
What I do remember is the water—beautiful waterfalls and pools of turquoise blue.
Maybe the waters are what I remember for a reason. If the desert in Arizona were compared to the trials we face on earth, the water in the middle of the desert could symbolize our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the light He brings to our lives.
Traveling in the wilderness is a common theme in the scriptures, and there are many lessons we can learn by likening the wilderness to our journey through life. We face loneliness, isolation, illness, and other hard and painful situations that, much like traveling in the blistering heat of a desert, feel unbearable. But through the scriptures, Heavenly Father shows us that we can experience miracles even in the most unlikely situations. Here are three lessons I’ve learned from studying the stories of those who spent time in the wilderness.
1. The Lord Can Be Our Guide
Lehi and his family entered the wilderness because Lehi had a vision that their home, Jerusalem, would be destroyed if the people did not repent (see 1 Nephi 1). In the beginning, they had no idea how long they would be there. They didn’t know where they were going. And they struggled to find food (see 1 Nephi 16:18–19).
During their travels, they came across the Liahona. This miraculous object pointed them to where they needed to go, so long as they were following the Lord’s commandments (see 1 Nephi 16:28).
God has also provided us with sources of guidance while we travel through the wilderness of life. He offers us the Holy Ghost, personal revelation, the scriptures, patriarchal and priesthood blessings, and general conference, among other things.
While serving a mission in Australia, I was assigned to serve in a small town that was isolated from most of the mission, and I often felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I did my best to meet new people, provide service, and work hard. But I found missionary work challenging. Approaching people or knocking on doors was nerve-racking. And every rejection made it more difficult. I felt like I was traveling through a spiritual desert.
But God guided me to people along the way. The Holy Ghost inspired me to knock on certain doors and talk to specific people. I was in a desert, but I also witnessed miracles as I relied on Him to guide me.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
“[Heavenly Father] didn’t send you on this journey only to wander aimlessly on your own. He wants you to come home to Him. He has given you loving parents and faithful Church leaders, along with a map that describes the terrain and identifies the dangers; the map shows you where peace and happiness can be found and will help you plot your course back home. …
“This map is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news, and the joyful way of a disciple of Christ. It is the commandments and example given to us by our Advocate and Mentor, who knows the way because He is the way.”1
2. The Lord Offers Us Living Water
The Samaritan woman who went to get water at a well probably didn’t expect anybody else to be there, but Jesus Christ was. While at the well, the Lord told the woman:
“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13–14).
This woman learned of water greater than what we find on earth. She was converted to the Lord and brought to a knowledge of the source of everlasting happiness.
We can also come unto Christ and experience the joy He offers.
A few years ago, I went through a difficult breakup with a boyfriend. I knew it was for the best, but it left me feeling more depressed than I’d ever felt.
I felt unlovable, and those feelings bled into depression and caused me to question my faith. I felt abandoned, like I was alone in the wilderness.
I tried all sorts of ways to fill the void in my heart for months. I was thirsting after something but looking for it in the wrong places. What I needed was to turn to the Savior. Only His love and His Atonement could bring me out of the scorching heat of that desert. After months of numbly attending church services, I felt prompted to seek the Savior more diligently. I started meeting with my bishop and stopped some bad habits I had developed.
It wasn’t always easy to choose to turn to the Savior. But one thing that helped me was writing notes in my phone as if I were writing them to God. Over time, my notes turned from “I don’t think I can do this” to “I finally feel peace again.” The changes in my notes reflected the changes I was making in my life to turn to God. I know that His way is the way of everlasting happiness.
As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “In spite of life’s tribulations and as fearful as some of our prospects are, I testify that there is help for the journey. There is the Bread of Eternal Life and the Well of Living Water. Christ has overcome the world—our world—and His gift to us is peace now and exaltation in the world to come. Our fundamental requirement is to have faith in Him and follow Him—always. When He bids us to walk in His way and by His light, it is because He has walked this way before us, and He has made it safe for our own travel here. He knows where the sharp stones and stumbling blocks lie hidden and where thorns and thistles are the most severe. He knows where the path is perilous, and He knows which way to go when the road forks and nightfall comes.”2
3. The Lord Can Be Our Companion
During their journey through the desert, Moses and the Israelites found themselves in desperate need of water.
After receiving instruction from Jesus Christ, Moses led the people to a rock, which he struck with his rod. Water gushed out, “that the people may drink” (Exodus 17:6).
In the end, the Israelites stayed in the wilderness for years. But the Lord was there with them, and He travels with us through our seasons in the wilderness as well.
For several years, I have been an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University. My time at school has been both wonderful and challenging. There have often been times when I’ve struggled, even when I’ve put in extra hours of study. There have been many moments where I wanted to quit.
But I haven’t quit. Heavenly Father hasn’t made my classes any easier, but I know He is with me. He has helped me find tutors and study habits that work for me—like He’s showing me where to hit a rock to find water. He’s reminded me when to sacrifice time to study or let me know it’s OK that I got a low score on a test. My education has been a bit like a wilderness, but He has been my companion through it all.
President George Q. Cannon (1827–1901) taught: “No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is [against] His character [to do so]. He is an unchangeable being. … He will stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and the purer for them, if we only trust in our God and keep His commandments.”3
Our Time in the Wilderness Is an Opportunity to Turn to God
We may not forget the times we felt we were wandering in the wilderness, but as we look back on them, we can better recognize the Savior’s hand in our lives, how He offered us living water.
As much as we might wish we didn’t have to go through hard times, they give us an opportunity to turn to Him. The Lord invites all of us to come unto Him. If we seek to include Him in our journey, we will find Him. He will guide us—through scriptures, through church, through fasting, through our leaders. He will provide for us; He is the source of eternal happiness. And even when He can’t immediately take us out of the desert, He is with us.
And He will always be with us as we turn to Him.