God Is At Work Behind The Scenes

“I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.” – Habakkuk 2:1-3.

If we had the ability to write and direct our own life, the plot lines, the twists and turns of life, would be significantly different. The times we spend in the wilderness or in obscurity would be reduced if not eliminated. The hurts, habits and hangups in our life would never materialize. Our expectations would increase, our plans would always come to fruition and our dreams would always materialize. The only problem is we are not writing the biopic of our lives, God is.

Which is why when we face trials of time in the wilderness or obscurity we can become frustrated with God. He could make my life a wildly successful story, but it is far from that. In fact, there are times when He seems to abandon me. When plodding through the wilderness, life doesn’t always make sense. But God has a purpose for it, and is working behind the scenes.

The wilderness obscurity experience is very much God-initiated. It is all part of God’s design. It is in the wilderness or obscurity that God will help you realize you are not abandoned. When in the wilderness, when in the moments where we don‘t understand the plot lines, the twists and turns that are happening in our lives, when nothing around us seems to make sense, God is working behind the scenes. In each and every area that we cannot see, from the past up through the future, God is there, working out His will in our lives. It is in the wilderness that we often learn how to better follow Him. 

Obscurity is a place between you and the fulfillment of God’s promise in your life. Until we embrace and enjoy the wilderness, our ability to handle God’s best for us is obscurity. It is only those who are sweetly broken by God in the obscurity who understand, appreciate, and truly know His love, power, and grace.

Discussion Questions:

1. How can we fight the natural inclination to get out of the wilderness and become frustrated with God?
2. What are some indications in your life that God is working behind the scenes?
3. How can the wilderness elevate Jesus and put Him into focus?
4. What can we do at a practical level to increase our spiritual benefits from our time in the wilderness or obscurity?