Don’t Waste Your Wilderness!

This is a shortened summary of a prophetic word by Chuck Ammons (See the link below for the full word).

“I supply streams of water in the desert and rivers in the wilderness to satisfy the thirst of My people, My chosen ones, so that you, whom I have shaped and formed for Myself, will proclaim My praise.”
Isaiah 43:20–21 TPT

Throughout Scripture, God shapes His people in a place most of us would rather avoid: the wilderness. From Genesis to Revelation, the wilderness emerges not as a punishment but as a profound pathway—a meeting place where God purifies, prepares, and reveals Himself.

In the earliest chapters of the Bible, God goes with Adam and Eve as they step out of Eden into the wilderness (Genesis 3–4). Abraham’s first steps into destiny lead him directly into the wilderness (Genesis 12, 22). God rescues Hagar and Ishmael again and again in their wilderness (Genesis 16, 21). Jacob wrestles with God and receives a new name in the wilderness (Genesis 28–32). Moses learns to shepherd Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 2–4). The people of Israel spend forty years in the wilderness before inheriting the Promised Land. Elijah knows miraculous provision in the wilderness (1 Kings 17–19). David is prepared for the throne in the wilderness (1 Samuel 22–30).

This theme spills into the New Testament: John the Baptist was raised in the wilderness (Luke 1:80). Paul spent three years being shaped in Arabia—in the wilderness—after his conversion (Galatians 1:15–18). John received the book of Revelation in a wilderness of isolation (Revelation 1:9). And Jesus Himself, immediately after His baptism, was led by the Spirit into the wilderness (Matthew 4:1).

The wilderness in Scripture is not merely geographical. It is a spiritual battleground—a place of stripping, sharpening, and sometimes silence. It is unpredictable and uninhabited, a landscape where distractions fall away and the illusion of control dies. The wilderness often looks like a painful circumstance you wish you could bypass, a lingering loss, the silence of God, loving someone who cannot love you back, transition where the old has ended but the new has not begun, rooms where your calling feels unclear, truth that confronts you, or the revelation of an addiction or idol that once comforted but now chains you.

The Wilderness – the birthplace of WONDER!

The wilderness is frightening because it brings us face-to-face with questions we try to bury. But what if the wilderness is not the place where God leaves us, but the place where He births wonder? If we will allow Him, we will discover that God often prepares His dreams in what feels like a desert. In the wilderness, God speaks, draws near, purifies, and prepares—but we must decide what we will do with our wilderness.

Strangely, Scripture often pairs the wilderness with another image: the refiner’s fire. Malachi declares that when the Lord is unveiled, He will carry out a purifying process like a refiner’s fire (Malachi 3:2–3 TPT). The wilderness is the place where God purifies our hearts. Moses knew he was called to be a rescuer, but in youthful zeal, he killed an Egyptian. In the wilderness, the Father refined his heart—removing vengeance and establishing reverence. So it is with us: God removes us from the noise in order to remove from us what no longer fits who we are in Christ.

The wilderness is also the place where God prepares our hearts. Moses, David, John, Paul, and even Jesus were all called into private intimacy before they ever stepped into public assignment. They were shaped by the Refiner before they were sent as restorers. Seeing this pattern, we must ask: How can we receive rather than resent the places that feel like a wilderness?

Don’t Waste Your Wilderness

Too often, we “waste” our wilderness through whining, wallowing, or worrying. Whining—like Israel grumbling in the desert—fixes our eyes on what is missing instead of God’s provision. Psalm 33 gives a gracious invitation: “It’s time to sing and shout for joy! Go ahead, all you redeemed ones, do it!” (Psalm 33:1 TPT).

We waste the wilderness by wallowing—immersing ourselves excessively in the problem until it becomes bigger than our Savior. When we wallow, we elevate the trial above the truth and believe we will only have peace once the storm passes. Mercy calls us higher: “Be inwardly transformed… through a total reformation of how you think” (Romans 12:2 TPT).

We waste the wilderness by worrying, even though Jesus urged us not to worry about tomorrow but to rest in the sufficiency of His presence (Matthew 6:34).

But when we look through the lens of Scripture, we find that the wilderness is not our enemy—it is our incubator. It is where callings are clarified, strength is forged, intimacy with the Father is proven and strengthened. It is where impurities die and where new anointing and favor are born. It is where the things that no longer belong to us are stripped away, and where the next chapter of God’s dream begins to take shape.

Wonder often begins in the wilderness. So don’t wish it away. If you find yourself in a desert between God’s promise and the Promised Land, take heart. God is with you. And He refuses to waste your wilderness.

Read Chuck’s word in full here: https://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=33435

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Join Us in SCOTLAND

Join Jarrod this month in Denny, Scotland, on Saturday 28th February for a DAY of worship, encounter, inspirational teaching and prophetic ministry, launching the newly expanded and updated book and course “The Divine Reset & Beyond.”

Expect to be encouraged, expect to hear from God, expect an encounter!

Entrance is FREE but booking is essential.

⏰ 10am – 4pm
📍 Denny Baptist Church, 32 Herbertshire Street, Denny. FK6 6HD

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