5 Signs You’re Stuck In A Wilderness
THE WILDERNESS WAS NEVER THE DESTINATION
There Is A Promised Land
God didn’t deliver you from bondage (Egypt) just to leave you wandering around in a wilderness you’re whole life. There is a Promised Land with your Name on it. Fields with Fruit & Harvest for YOU that you didn’t even sow in or work on! Houses (for YOU) that you did not build (or pay for!)
God delivered the children of Israel
OUT OF BONDAGE > INTO INHERITANCE;
OUT OF SLAVERY > INTO SONSHIP
OUT OF THE DESERT > INTO THEIR DESTINY
The Wilderness was key…God met them there…God even met Jesus there. It’s a vital part of our story to instill our identity. To write the Word upon the table of our hearts, to learn to follow the Spirit and Trust God for provision. But…
THE WILDERNESS WAS NEVER THEIR DESTINATION
I fear that we in the Church have become so familiar with the wilderness, so comfortable eating the miracle of Manna, we’ve forgotten about our INHERITANCE. God promised this land to His children. There’s something about God giving His children territory and authority that He wants to use to show His glory to the earth. We cannot be a city on a hill if we never take the hill. We cannot be a lamp on a lampstand if we are comfortable in the darkness. Jesus bled to give us this inheritance…to make us joint heirs. To give us what He deserves, as He so sacrificially took what we deserved. We owe it to Him to go for it. To get out of this stuck wandering around in the wilderness. Barely getting by and circling the same mountains year after year. Stuck in Fear and continuing the same complaints with the same faithless community. It’s time for a change!
JESUS CAME WITH SOMETHING BETTER…
Hebrews tells us it’s a “better covenant” established on “better promises”
So why are we so romantic about the old, obsolete, not-as-good covenant that makes sin abound?!
If you’ve found yourself circling the same mountain, living in survival mode, or seeing yourself smaller than God sees you (as grasshoppers in the sight of Giants)…
THIS IS NOT A CONDEMNATION…IT’S AN INVITATION
To crossover this Jordan River into the Promised Land that already has your name on it!
FIRST WE NEED TO…
Stop Calling the Wilderness the Promised Land
There is a difference between being delivered from Egypt and living in the Promised Land.
Israel experienced both.
The blood of the lamb got them out of Egypt. They passed through the water. They experienced supernatural provision. They saw miracles. They had manna falling from heaven.
And yet an entire generation wandered in the wilderness without possessing what God had promised them. I wonder if parts of the Church have done the same thing.
We’ve learned how to survive in the wilderness—and then started telling people it’s the Promised Land.
We preach a Christianity where you’re forgiven enough to eventually go to heaven, but until then you should expect to remain defeated, fearful, powerless, sick, hopeless, lonely, anxious and barely hanging on.
And then we call that Good News.
I’m sorry, that is NOT the GOSPEL…that is not the almost-too-good-to-be-true news.
Maybe it’s decent news to say, “You don’t have to go to hell. Just hang on until the end.”
But Jesus preached something much far better:
The Gospel of the Kingdom.
The Good News of the King’s Domain.
And The Kingdom has to look like the King…the KING of KINGS…JESUS!
A Kingdom with a new covenant which has been established on what Jesus has done and what Jesus has endured. It’s not about my doing or my enduring. Sin has been dealt with. The enemy has been defeated. The Spirit has been poured out. The Kingdom has come near.
And through Jesus Christ, we have been invited in.
“But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”
Hebrews 8:6
A better covenant. Better promises.
So why are we preaching wilderness Christianity like it’s the destination?
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1. You Still See Yourself as Small
When the spies returned from the Promised Land, ten of them said:
“We seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers.”
Numbers 13:33
Notice where their defeat began.
In their own eyes.
God had already told them what belonged to them. The problem wasn’t whether God had made the promise. The problem was whether they believed Him enough to enter it.
The wilderness constantly points you back toward yourself: THE LAW LOOKS INWARD
Am I strong enough?
Am I holy enough?
Have I prayed enough?
Have I fasted enough?
Have I suffered enough?
Do I deserve this?
GRACE POINTS US TO WHAT JESUS HAS DONE… GRACE LOOKS UPWARD
The Gospel announces that our confidence isn’t found in what we accomplished for Him, but in what He accomplished for us.
You were crucified with Christ.
You were buried with Christ.
You were raised with Christ.
You have been made a new creation.
You have been transferred from darkness into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.
You don’t overcome your grasshopper identity by convincing yourself that you’re amazing.
You overcome it by becoming convinced that Jesus is amazing—and you are in Him.
2. Fear Has Become Your Community
Ten spies saw giants. Joshua and Caleb saw the same giants.
The difference wasn’t the giants.It was the lens through which they viewed them.
Fear is contagious.
An entire nation allowed the unbelief of ten men to speak louder than the promise of God.
Be careful who gets permission to continually interpret God for you.
If your primary spiritual community constantly tells you why God probably won’t move, why miracles don’t happen anymore, why you shouldn’t expect too much, why suffering is probably God’s will, and why believing His promises too literally is dangerous—you may eventually start calling unbelief “wisdom.”
I’m not advocating denial.
Faith doesn’t pretend giants don’t exist.
Faith decides the giants don’t get the final word.
Joshua and Caleb weren’t ignorant of reality. They simply believed God’s promise was more authoritative than what they could see.
3. You Keep Circling the Same Mountain
Eventually God told Israel:
“You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough.”
Deuteronomy 2:3
Somebody needs to hear that.
You’ve circled this mountain long enough.
Same fear.
Same condemnation.
Same offense.
Same religious performance.
Same cycle of sin and shame.
Same theology telling you that maybe someday, if you pray enough, fast enough, sacrifice enough and finally become good enough, God will bless you.
At some point we have to ask:
Did Jesus actually accomplish what He said He accomplished?
Because if He did, maybe the answer isn’t another lap around the mountain.
Maybe it’s time to receive what He purchased.
4. You’re Living in Survival Mode
Israel had manna.
Every day there was just enough for that day.
That’s miraculous provision, and we should honor what God did for Israel in the wilderness.
But manna wasn’t the destination.
There was an inheritance waiting for them.
Fields they hadn’t planted.
Houses they hadn’t built.
Vineyards they hadn’t cultivated.
Abundance.
The wilderness was never supposed to become their permanent address.
And under the New Covenant, Scripture says something even greater:
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
Romans 8:32
And:
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.”
2 Peter 1:3
Christianity isn’t supposed to be an endless attempt to convince a reluctant God to finally do something for us.
He moved first.
He loved first.
He gave first.
He sent Jesus while we were still sinners.
Prayer, fasting, worship and Scripture are beautiful. I practice them and believe deeply in them.
But they aren’t currency.
I don’t pray to pay God.
I don’t fast to purchase what Jesus already bought.
I don’t worship to earn His presence.
These things don’t make the Cross more effective.
They turn my heart toward the One whose finished work already is.
The Christian life begins with receiving.
5. Gossip and Grumbling Have Replaced Expectation
Israel began interpreting God through their circumstances instead of interpreting their circumstances through what God had revealed about Himself.
They grumbled.
They complained.
They accused God.
They even began romanticizing Egypt.
That’s what wilderness thinking eventually does.
Bondage starts looking safer than inheritance because inheritance requires faith.
And when we’re no longer expecting the goodness of God, conversations inevitably become dominated by what’s wrong.
What’s wrong with the Church.
What’s wrong with the pastor.
What’s wrong with our circumstances.
What’s wrong with everybody else.
Hebrews gives us another way: “Exhort one another every day…that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
Hebrews 3:13
Kingdom community doesn’t mean pretending problems don’t exist.
It means encouraging one another toward Jesus instead of continually reinforcing unbelief.
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Stop Calling Bad News Good News
This matters to me because words mean something.
Gospel means Good News.
So we should occasionally stop and ask:
Is what I’m preaching actually good news?
You can’t just love holiness. You have to hate sin.
And I don’t think we can merely say we love Good News while remaining comfortable with bad news masquerading as Good News.
Isaiah warned about calling evil good and good evil.
That should at least make us examine the categories we’ve inherited.
Have we ever called unbelief “maturity”?
Called condemnation “conviction”?
Called religious striving “discipleship”?
Called powerlessness “humility”?
Called living under condemnation “holiness”?
Called the wilderness the Promised Land?
Selah.
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The Gospel Is Almost Too Good to Be True
Look at Jesus.
He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
He is the Savior of the world.
He became sin for us.
He became the curse.
He fulfilled the Law.
He defeated death.
He conquered the grave.
He rose victorious.
He is the Healer.
The Deliverer.
The Promise Keeper.
The Bridegroom.
He is the image of the invisible God and the exact imprint of His nature.
Jesus said: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
John 14:9
He healed the sick.
He delivered the oppressed.
He forgave sinners.
He touched lepers.
He welcomed outcasts.
He announced the Kingdom.
And then He told His disciples: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”
Matthew 10:8
Freely you received. Freely give.
That’s Kingdom.
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Why Is It Free?
Here’s where grace offends religious pride:
It’s free to you because it cost Jesus everything.
Free does not mean cheap.
The Cross wasn’t cheap.
His blood wasn’t cheap.
Grace isn’t cheap.
It was unimaginably costly.
Jesus simply refused to send you the bill.
And sometimes I wonder whether our attempts to add our own payment to His sacrifice actually dishonor how sufficient His payment was.
The greatest honor we can give the finished work isn’t attempting to help Jesus pay for it.
It’s believing Him.
Receiving it.
Living in it.
And giving away what we’ve freely received.
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Pride Wants to Pay for Grace
Humility says:
“Jesus, I need everything You purchased for me because I could never purchase it myself.”
Pride says:
“Surely I have to contribute something.”
That’s why grace can actually be offensive.
We want our prayer life to count for something.
Our fasting.
Our discipline.
Our sacrifice.
Our suffering.
Our years in ministry.
You’ve probably heard someone say: “You don’t know what I paid to get here.”
That statement should make us extremely cautious.
Because ultimately, this isn’t about what I paid. It’s about what Jesus paid.
Scripture couldn’t make the distinction much clearer:
“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.”
Romans 4:4
If I’m receiving something because I’ve earned it, that’s wages. If it’s wages, it isn’t a gift.
And if I’ve earned my standing with God, it isn’t grace.
But the Gospel declares: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
Before you cleaned yourself up.
Before you fixed your theology.
Before your impressive prayer streak.
Before you overcame every addiction.
Before you became somebody else’s definition of “holy enough.”
Christ died for you.
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Don’t Start With Grace and Finish With Works
Paul’s question to the Galatians is devastating:
“Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
Galatians 3:3
We received Jesus by faith. So how do we continue?
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.”
Colossians 2:6
The same way.
Grace through faith.
We don’t enter through grace and then graduate into self-righteousness.
We don’t receive salvation as a gift and spend the next forty years trying to prove we deserved it.
We continue receiving Jesus.
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New Wine Needs New Wineskins
This is where I think much of our confusion comes from.
Jesus talked about new wine and new wineskins.
You can’t pour the wine of the New Covenant into a system designed around earning righteousness through the old covenant.
Something eventually bursts.
The Law isn’t evil.
Paul explicitly said the Law is holy, righteous and good.
But the Law could reveal sin; it could not make sinful humanity righteous.
Paul even said:
“The law came in to increase the trespass.”
Romans 5:20
That’s why preaching God’s commands detached from Christ’s finished work can leave people staring at their failure rather than beholding their Savior.
The answer isn’t lawlessness. The answer is Jesus.
The New Covenant doesn’t lower holiness. It changes its source.
Instead of trying to transform ourselves from the outside in, God gives us a new heart, puts His Spirit within us and writes His ways upon our hearts.
And Jesus summarizes God’s desire beautifully: Love God. Love people.
Then He gives His disciples a new command: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
John 13:34
Notice the order. As I have loved you.
Receive. Then give.
As John the beloved states, “We Love, because He FIRST Loved us…”
We can even love God and love others until we’ve received the Grace of His love first!
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Grace Came Before They Got It Together
Look at how Jesus treated people.
Peter didn’t earn the miraculous catch of fish by becoming a perfect disciple first. The abundance preceded Peter falling before Jesus in repentance.
The woman caught in adultery encountered mercy before Jesus told her to leave her life of sin.
Jesus touched the leper before the man could fulfill the ceremonial instructions Jesus then gave him concerning the priest.
Grace moves first.
That doesn’t mean repentance doesn’t matter.
It means the goodness of God leads us to repentance.
Grace isn’t God’s reward for finally becoming holy.
Grace is God’s power working in people who could never make themselves righteous.
And when you really encounter that grace, it doesn’t make you want sin more.
It makes Jesus irresistible.
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Maybe We Need a Different Altar Call
So here’s the altar call I want to give.
Not an altar call where we promise God we’ll try harder.
An altar call where we stop trying to be our own savior.
Repent of pride.
Repent of self-righteousness.
Repent of judging everyone else’s walk according to your performance.
Repent of believing God owes you something because you prayed, fasted, served, sacrificed or suffered.
Repent of looking endlessly at yourself.
And look at JESUS.
Come completely empty-handed.
Receive His righteousness.
Receive His peace.
Receive His joy.
Receive His Spirit.
Receive His love.
Receive His finished work.
Receive the inheritance He purchased.
Then watch what happens.
I believe you’ll begin bearing fruit—not because you’re desperately trying to manufacture fruit, but because you’re finally rooted in the Vine.
You may discover yourself becoming more holy accidentally than you ever became on purpose, because holiness is becoming fruit instead of payment.
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It’s Time to Leave the Wilderness
God didn’t deliver Israel from Egypt so they could spend their lives circling a mountain.
And Jesus didn’t shed His blood merely so you could spend your Christian life barely surviving until heaven.
There is an inheritance.
There is righteousness.
There is peace.
There is joy in the Holy Spirit.
There is authority.
There is purpose.
There is sonship.
There is community.
There is calling.
There is a Kingdom.
And its King is Jesus.
The Gospel isn’t the announcement that you need to perform harder so God might finally bless you.
The Gospel is the announcement that the King has come.
Jesus has conquered.
The price has been paid.
The veil has been torn.
The Spirit has been poured out.
You’ve been invited into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.
So maybe it’s time to stop circling the mountain.
Maybe it’s time to stop calling wilderness survival Christianity.
Maybe it’s time to believe that the New Covenant really is better, its promises really are better, and Jesus really meant it when He said:
“Freely you have received; freely give.”
The wilderness was never the destination.
There is an inheritance. Receive it freely.
Then give it away.
— Nathaniel Swokowski
Gracewave Ministries International
Freely receive. Freely give.
