Well, sometimes we think that God can use us only when we’re at our best or feeling strong and encouraged, but we can flourish even in hard times.
Jesus is familiar with the wilderness. There was such an amazing, powerful moment when He was baptized by His cousin John the Baptist. In the hearing of the crowd gathered at the river, God declared from heaven, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy” (Mark 1:11). But Scripture records that, right after that high moment, “the Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness” (verse 12). Jesus has suffered through times when He felt forgotten, alone, and frustrated. Wild animals were prowling in the wilderness with Him. Jesus was isolated, but it was in that desert that He passed many character tests. It was in that desert that God sent angels to comfort Him.[2] So you may be in the wilderness, but God is sending angels to comfort you, to care for you, and to strengthen you.
Hosea 13:5 says, “I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land.” God is going to take care of you in your wilderness season. It may feel dry. You may be tired and thirsty, but God knows you. He sees you. He hasn’t forgotten you. He knows every hair on your head. He sees your pain and frustration. Maybe you’re in a high season of life but have a family member that’s in the wilderness. God sees their pain. He sees their frustration. The Lord spoke to Moses in the desert.[3] He can speak to you in your desert, and He can speak through you in the deserts of your friends and family. He can drop words into your heart or send people across your path that act as water to your soul. That phone call, that text message, that sermon, or that smile can be your water in the desert. God is familiar with and unafraid of the deserts of our lives.
Even in your desert season, I dare you to flourish.
I’m committed to continue flourishing. I’m choosing to stay planted by water. What does that look like for me? For one example, I’ve been married for twenty-five years, and I’ve made it a point to keep asking women who have gone before me for wisdom and to listen for insights into any blind spots I might have. I went through a season when I felt like I had arrived, but the truth is, I will never arrive. I will always be on this journey. I fight to stay by streams of water so that my leaves won’t wither in marriage or any other area.[4] That is my prayer for you as well. Fight to keep growing, learning, and becoming more like Jesus.
Some things you can learn only when you’re in the desert. You’re going to learn crazy, amazing stuff about yourself and Jesus that He can share with you only in dry, slow seasons. Don’t be afraid of the wilderness. God will take care of you. He will pour into you. He will strengthen you. You will come back stronger than you could ever imagine. And while you wait to get through, you can pray, “God, I’m not alone. I’ve got You. I have a whole sisterhood cheering me on and praying for me.”
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Only God can cause you to flourish. The fact that so many of you have survived all the trials and heartaches you’ve been through is a miracle. Don’t forget that. I think we can get so used to surviving that we forget to look around and notice how we’re already thriving. Share the miracle of God’s work in your life as a way of reminding yourself and others that flourishing is possible in every season. Flourishing doesn’t mean being fake or saying that something is good when it’s not. It’s being real, not isolating yourself. It’s being planted around other people so that you can flourish together.
Painting a picture of what this looks like, the prophet Isaiah said,
Energize the limp hands,
strengthen the rubbery knees.
Tell fearful souls,
“Courage! Take heart!
God is here, right here,
on his way to put things right
And redress all wrongs.
He’s on his way! He’ll save you!”
Blind eyes will be opened.
deaf ears unstopped,
Lame men and women will leap like deer,
the voiceless break into song.
Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness,
streams flow in the desert.
Hot sands will become a cool oasis,
thirsty ground a splashing fountain.
Even lowly jackals will have water to drink,
and barren grasslands flourish richly. (Isaiah 35:3–7, MSG)
God is energizing anyone who doesn’t feel like they can lift their hands. He’s strengthening the weak knees. For any of you dealing with fear, God speaks to you, “Have courage, beautiful.”
God is with you. He’s right beside you. He’s on the move.
Many of you have obeyed God simply by reading this book. While you’re sitting here reading, He’s putting things right on your behalf because He’s that amazing. You feel like you’ve been blind in a certain situation, but Isaiah reminds us that God opens our eyes.
Some of you need to start singing again because you stopped singing and dreaming years ago. However, God is declaring that you’re getting your voice back.
What’s dead in you? What’s barren in you? God is saying, “Stay flexible. Keep bending; don’t break. I’m pouring into you. I’m growing and strengthening you. Soon your palm tree will stand so strong that others will find shade beneath it.”
We are brilliant; we are fearless; we are strong; we are sought after; we are altogether lovely; our past and the words of others don’t define us. No matter what our birth certificates say, we have royal blood in our veins. Our identity is in Jesus. And as His daughters, we will walk this earth with purpose because we were made for this!
Let’s Pray
Thank You, Jesus, for every one of Your daughters that You have made for this very moment. I thank You that, in this moment, You are bringing life to those things that seem dead or barren within me and within each of us. We are blossoming. You are strengthening us to stand tall. I thank You that this is our moment to flourish. Lead us and go before us, and help us flourish in the good and bad times. I thank You that we are not alone but that You are with us and that You love us. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Afterword
As we part ways here, I pray for you, friend. I speak calmness over you. I speak peace over you. I speak strength over you. I speak hope over you. I pray that you bear fresh fruit in each season.
You were born royal; you were made for such a time as this. May your life be filled with the goodness of God. May your footsteps be ordered by the Lord. May healing, purpose, and confidence permeate every area of your life.
I want to prophesy over you as you finish these pages. You are stepping into a new season of greatness, strength, boldness, faith, joy, and supernatural peace. He has gone before you. In the name of Jesus, no weapon formed against you or your family shall prosper. God has handpicked you to help usher in a value revolution in your life and in the life of every woman in your sphere. I’m believing that every word on the pages of this book, fused with the workings of the precious Holy Spirit, were able to wash over and renew your mind. I’m believing that you are positioned to take new steps of freedom as you walk out this beautiful, epic call.
With so much love,
