When nothing seems to be happening

When Jesus Christ was about to embark on His true life journey which the bible stated was to save the world, He had to spend 40 days in the wilderness. Saul had to stay blind and fasting for 3 days before his eyes were opened and he started his ministry that produced over 60% of the New Testament as Paul.

We all have our wilderness experiences in every aspect of life; it is usually at a turning point of transition up or down.

A wilderness turns out good or bad depending on how you see it, if it’s bad, nothing about it will be good for you, and so it will purge and squash you. If you see it as good and a way forward, it will purge and shape you into perfection.

A wilderness experience helps remove distractions from your vision so as to give you focus.

A wilderness experience helps remove you from your comfort zone and tune your vision antenna. It helps you clearly define your priorities which defines your true goals and objectives which also in turn defines your values. Your values color your aura and define your character. Your character defines who you attract into your inner circle which defines your path to success or failure.

When Jesus succeeded in His wilderness experience, angels came down and celebrated with Him and feed him.

Individuals, businesses, associations, groups, states and nations go through wilderness experiences. The nation of Israel spent 40 years in the desert before finding their Canaan, the world suffered wilderness of two world wars to get to where they are today, and Apple went through its crisis of business transitions before the return of Steve Jobs from his wilderness to take the company to where it is today.

The issue with wilderness is that you have to be sensitive to when you get into it and when you get out of it otherwise it is lost. It comes in different forms, it could be from a bad or set of bad experiences, it could be an accident, loss, discovery, just that you need to know when you get into your wilderness and so realise your path out and walk in it.

When you are in your wilderness, define

-       Why you got into it

-       Who you will be when you get out of it

-       What you will do when out of it

-       When you want to get out of it

-       Your vision

-       Your mission

-       Your goals and objectives

-       Who you will work with

-       Who and What you need to take out of your life

-       Who and what you need to include in your life inner circle

Your wilderness is a quiet time for sharpening, strengthening, rejuvenation, recharge and refire.

We face various wilderness experiences in our lives, families, nations and businesses depending on our life mission and goals, the bigger the mission, the more the wilderness experiences so make the best use of it every time you get into it.

There is no wilderness experience that will not end, the question is what you become at the end of the experience. The wilderness we usually forget to come out of is our comfort zone, we were not designed to live in our comfort zone that is why those that stay there, stay there while those that live beyond it achieve great things. Our life is supposed to be an upward spiral in every area but for many of us we plateau somewhere when we get into our comfort zone or sometimes get lost in our wilderness.

When you are experiencing dryness in a part of your life, it’s a wilderness and it will end, but while in it do the following

-       Read; empower yourself. You are an empty bottle when you get into your wilderness, you are the one to fill your bottle with all that you need to succeed in terms of information, data, ideas, skills and knowledge. These forms your character and habits, this defines your new person when you come out of the wilderness and if you come out empty, it’s sad, so sad. Ensure you come out full because these new inputs will define who you become and what platform you will be playing on. Don’t fill your bottle with pain, revenge, anger, bitterness, etc. fill it with every other good things and read in wide diversity; read the bible, read books in relation to your business, your career, your challenges, your pains, your worries, your economy, your culture, your environment, the future, new developments, new skills, etc.

-       Play; this is also a time to relax, abandon all the old inhibitions, go on adventure, change your routine, travel, exercise, play, play, play

-       Love; love means giving. Give, give, and give. Volunteer for a cause, support the needy, not just financially. Look for where to support, share more time with your loved ones, physically, mentally and financially. Just love.

-       Save; start saving no matter how small.

-       Exercise and meditate; exercise and meditation teaches you to stay focused and sharp and also helps you with discipline and humility. It helps you live longer.

Remember, no matter how hard or how bad your wilderness experience seems, you are not the only one going through it at that time, someone else somewhere in the world is going through even worse than you and your story will help someone else tomorrow. It will come to an end soon, all it takes is for you to recognise what it is and see a path out of it. Also, there is no one way out of it.

I wish you all the best.

Ayo Emakhiomhe – [email protected].