If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.
* * * * *
Jesus will often take us on a wilderness journey with Him in order to prepare us and equip us for the task that He is placing before us. There are things that He can only teach us when we are one-on-One with Him in the deserts, or the floods, or the difficulties of a wilderness journey. He alone determines how long the journey will last and where it will lead. Though He is using the time in the wilderness to prepare us for what He has in store after the wilderness, He also has work for us right there in the midst of the wilderness! And through the preparation and the work, He is teaching us truths we can only learn directly from Him.
Sometimes those wilderness journeys are a very private and personal affair. It’s us and the Lord – and very few others, if any, know about it. It’s a “hidden” journey – and i personally believe that it is in that type of journey that God does His deepest work in our lives. It is an intimate journey that God uses to remove the dross from our lives and refine us to be vessels that are prepared and useful to Him.
Many of us are very familiar with the Apostle Paul’s story, but i think most of us miss the “hidden” journeys that the Lord led him to take. Allow me to explore one of those here, because i believe there are some important take-aways for us.
Luke records that Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days following the day that Ananias laid his hands upon him, and he regained his sight. Luke also tells us that Saul arrived in Jerusalem after the believers in Damascus lowered him through an opening in the city wall.(1) There is an important part of the narrative that the Holy Spirit chose to tell us through Saul himself, and not through Luke. Saul tells us that “it was not until three years later that I finally went to Jerusalem.…”(2) That means that three years transpired between verses 19 and 26 of Acts 9. Saul also writes “I went away into Arabia and later returned to the city of Damascus.”(3) That means that somewhere between verses 21 and 23 of Acts 9, Saul was in Arabia and then returned to Damascus. We don’t know if that was for the entire three years, but it was apparently for a significant portion of it. So what was he doing and why did Luke leave a three year gap in his narrative?
Apparently, Saul only remained in Damascus initially for a matter of days – long enough for his sight and strength to be regained. During those initial days, Saul was already boldly proclaiming that Jesus, the One whose followers he had been persecuting, was in fact the Son of God. He did not delay in bearing witness to the grace and mercy of God. His witness was immediate – and the Jews, both believers and non-believers alike, were amazed by the conspicuous transformation in his life. But after a few days, the Lord led Saul on a wilderness journey into Arabia so that He might prepare and equip him for the work He had chosen for him to do. Though Saul had been an ardent student of the Word under the teaching of the religious scholars, there was much that needed to be clarified before he could effectively minister as an apostle. And if Saul was going to be the Lord’s apostle to carry the Good News to the Gentiles, he needed to be taught firsthand by Jesus. Remember, the apostles did not have benefit of the written New Testament as we do – they were the writers of that New Testament under the direction of the Holy Spirit. And they were writing what they had seen and heard from Jesus. It’s interesting to note that the duration of this time in Arabia is approximately three years, similar to the amount of time that Jesus spent discipling His other apostles.
Though the Holy Spirit did not lead the writers of the New Testament to tell us many of the details aboutSaul’s time in Arabia, we know that it pleased God “to reveal His Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia.…”(4) And throughout his time in Arabia, Jesus was his Teacher. Saul explained, “I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.”(5) Later, Saul (by then called the apostle Paul) wrote to the believers in Corinth, “I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.”(6) Some of these details refer to his missionary journeys recorded in the Book of Acts, but some, such as the flooding rivers, the danger of robbers, the danger in the deserts, the cold and the lack of food may very well refer to other periods, including his three years in Arabia. As Jesus led Saul on his wilderness journey with Him, it is very likely that it included time at Mount Sinai. It is also most likely that Jesus led Saul to evangelize as he journeyed through the wilderness of Arabia. Jesus often sent out His apostles to preach and perform miracles throughout His earthly ministry, so it would be reasonable to believe He followed a similar pattern with Saul.
When Saul returned to Damascus, his preaching was so powerful that the Jews could not refute him. It wasn’t ferocity, or piety or fervency that they saw. His power and authority came from the fact that, like Peter and the other disciples, he had been with Jesus.
Yes, the Lord allowed Paul to walk with Him through the trials and challenges of a wilderness journey – all so that the Father’s mission and purpose would be fulfilled. And that same God will also lead you and i through the wilderness journeys He has designed for us. Some of them will be publicly known, but others will be hidden. Regardless, He will go with us each and every step of the way.
One more thing: This week i am releasing the newest novel in my Through the Eyes series. The book is entitled Through the Eyes of a Prisoner. It is the story of the Apostle Paul, written in first-person – from his early days in Tarsus through his final hours in Rome, including the many times he was imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel. The story includes the “hidden journeys” of his life using fiction to consider what may have occurred during those times. My hope is that you will recognize the ways God works through all of our experiences – those that are well known to others, as well as those that are hidden from view. God uses it all – to further His mission -- and bring glory to His name. i hope you will check out the book.
* * * * *
This post is adapted from Until He Returns, chapter 25, entitled “A Hidden Journey in the Wilderness”. This sixth book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print or for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy.
* * * * *
(1) Acts 9:19-26
(2) Galatians 1:18 (NLT)
(3) Galatians 1:17 (NLT)
(4) Galatians 1:16-17 (NLT)
(5) Galatians 1:12 (NLT)
(6) 2 Corinthians 11:26-27 (NLT)
Copyright © 2021 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
Photo by Pearl on Lightstock (picturing Saul on the road to Damascus)