Notes by La'Rue

As a parent (though I’m not yet one), my worst fear would be forgetting and leaving my child. I know you’re wondering, “How on earth could you forget your child?” Yet you’ll be amazed at how easily things could happen, although not done intentionally. However, there are some things that are, and I believe experiencing a wilderness season is one of them. For those of you unfamiliar with the phrase “wilderness season,” it’s when God takes you to a place of solitude, to strengthen, mold, train, and rid you of things, that would either prohibit you from going to the next level or equip you with what you need to make it there. Some of you may have gone through the wild, and some of you may never have to. However, I want to speak to those who are in it and don’t know you are, and those who know they are but don’t know how or if they’ll make it out.

Are you going through some of the most severe times in your life, and no matter how much you have been praying, fasting, and seeking God, it seems as though He is nowhere to be found? Does it seem the more you search for Him, the more you lose faith that He actually exists? Do you have feelings of neglect, betrayal, disappointment, and disbelief towards God? If you are crying and shouting out to God, hoping to hear His voice, but instead you’re met with an echo of yours, chances are, you’re in the wild, wild, wild, (echoing). God has His reasons for the seasons He takes us through, and while we don’t understand, question, and even try to change it, we won’t be able to. “How come,” you ask? It’s because we can’t change something that was designed to change us. Nothing you are going through or will go through is happenstance; it was all done on purpose!

Wilderness, or alone seasons, as they are often referred to, have several purposes. The most common one is to draw you nearer to God. A lot of times we can allow people and things to replace God and cause us to rely more on them and less on Him. God is jealous, and if He sees you no longer have a need for Him, He’ll dissolve your relationship with them, thus causing your dependency to be solely on Him. Another purpose in the wild is to prepare you for what God is going to do through you, or where He’s taking you to. You’ve been tasked with something, you may or may not be aware of, but God does. He knows exactly what He’s purposed you to do, and in order for you to do it, He’s got to take you through the fire. The fire isn’t meant to kill you (although it feels like it), but to take away the impurities (1 Peter 1:7) that would otherwise destroy the assignment, and you.

At the same time, He’s removing things from you, He’s replacing them with things you’ll need. For example, you may want to be a leader and business owner but lack the maturity it takes to not only be both but to serve others. A lot of people follow this notion that when they’re in charge, they don’t take orders, only give them, nor do they feel the need to listen. However, the moment you stop listening is the moment you stop growing, and if you want God to get you through this season, you have a lot more growing and going to do. In other words, you’re not trekking for nothing! You’re going through it, which means you’re going to come out of it! I’m not sure how long you’re going to be “out there.” I’ve been in the wild for a little over a year now, and while I can feel my exodus is near, at the same time it seems I’ve just entered it, but I know I won’t be here forever. 

The wild can either make you or break you and sometimes God will allow it to do the latter, so He can move you forward. Just know, once you make it through, there’s nothing you cannot do!

Until next time my NOTE takers!

Deetra La’Rue