{"id":5388,"date":"2026-01-06T21:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T21:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/?p=5388"},"modified":"2026-03-26T13:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:55:16","slug":"dont-waste-your-wilderness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/?p=5388","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Waste Your Wilderness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Exodus 3:7<\/strong> \u201c<\/em>And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry… for I know their sorrows.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember playing a story-driven video game with plot twists around every corner. Midway through, the hero gets captured. It looked like total defeat. I almost turned the game off! But then, at the end, I realized that even the capture was part of a bigger rescue mission. The game creator had written a story that made no sense in the middle<\/em>, but perfect sense in the end<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s how God works in our lives. In the book of Exodus, God shows us that even when we can\u2019t see His hand, He\u2019s still writing His plan. Moses\u2019 story is more than just a tale of deliverance\u2014it\u2019s a divine demonstration that God is always working, even when you don\u2019t understand how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I. God\u2019s Presence Is at Work When You Don\u2019t Perceive It<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It looked like God had gone silent in Egypt. His people were enslaved, babies were dying, and prayers seemed unanswered. But just because God was quiet didn\u2019t mean He was\u00a0absent.\u00a0<\/em>When Pharaoh\u2019s daughter found baby Moses floating down the Nile, that wasn\u2019t coincidence\u2014that was\u00a0providence!\u00a0<\/em>God guided the current, softened Pharaoh\u2019s daughter\u2019s heart, and positioned Moses for His purpose. God is doing the same in your life. You might think your pain, your rejection, or even your mistakes are random\u2014but God is\u00a0writing redemption\u00a0<\/em>into your story. Romans 8:28 still says,\u00a0\u201cAnd we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Even when you can\u2019t trace His hand, you can trust His heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

II. God\u2019s Power Is Displayed Through Weakness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you think of heroes, you picture warriors, not women with no power<\/em>. But in Exodus 1, God used two humble midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, to save His people. They weren\u2019t mighty soldiers\u2014 they were servants. They didn\u2019t wear armor\u2014they wore aprons. And yet, they feared God <\/em>more than Pharaoh. God used their weakness as a weapon against the enemy! <\/em>Then came Pharaoh\u2019s own daughter\u2014a pagan princess\u2014rescuing the very baby who would one day lead Israel out. What a reminder that God doesn\u2019t need perfect people to do powerful things. \u201cBut God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things… to confound the things which are mighty.\u201d <\/em>\u2014 1 Corinthians 1:27 God delights in using ordinary people to do extraordinary things\u2014if they\u2019re willing to trust Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

III. God\u2019s Plan Is Formed in the Wilderness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Moses ever faced Pharaoh, he faced forty years in the wilderness. God took him from a palace to a pasture. From royal robes to shepherd\u2019s rags. Why? Because before Moses could lead people out of Egypt, God had to lead Egypt out of Moses. <\/em>Teenager, don\u2019t waste your wilderness. You may feel like you\u2019re stuck\u2014nothing\u2019s happening, life feels dry, your prayers feel unanswered. But that\u2019s where God is shaping your character. He\u2019s preparing you for a mission you can\u2019t yet see. David was shaped in the fields. Joseph was shaped in prison. Moses was shaped in the wilderness. And you\u2019re being shaped right where you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IV. God\u2019s Purpose Is Bigger Than Your Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us ask, \u201cGod, what\u2019s Your will for my life?\u201d But the better question is, \u201cLord, how does my life fit into Your <\/em>will? God\u2019s story didn\u2019t start with you, and it won\u2019t end with you\u2014but it can include you. You were created for His glory, not your own comfort. He doesn\u2019t just want to get you out of Egypt<\/em>\u2014He wants to get Egypt out of you.<\/em>That\u2019s what salvation is all about. God isn\u2019t just taking you to Heaven someday\u2014He\u2019s putting Heaven inside you right now. <\/em>Even when it seems like God isn\u2019t working, He is. Even when you feel weak, He\u2019s still strong. Even when you don\u2019t understand His plan, He\u2019s writing one that will amaze you in the end.So when life feels random, remember this: God never wastes a moment. He works in secret seasons, through simple people, and in surprising ways<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God has a purpose for the place you are in today!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

William Davis | Assistant Pastor
Clays Mill Baptist Church | Lexington, KY<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exodus 3:7 \u201cAnd the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry… for I know their sorrows.\u201d I remember playing a story-driven video game with plot twists around every corner. Midway through, the hero gets captured. It looked like total defeat. I almost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_food_recipe":[],"enable_food_recipe":"","food_recipe_title":"","food_recipe_description":"","food_recipe_serve":"","food_recipe_time":"","food_recipe_prep":"","food_recipe_level":"","food_recipe_keywords":"","food_recipe_category":"","food_recipe_cuisine":"","food_recipe_yield":"","food_recipe_calories":"","enable_print_recipe":"","ingredient":[],"instruction":"","jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_podcast_option":[],"jnews_podcast_series":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[158,180,390,362,364,115],"jnews-series":[],"class_list":["post-5388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-youth-truth","tag-game","tag-god","tag-gods-power","tag-video-game","tag-wilderness","tag-william-davis"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blue-and-Playful-Pixel-Illustration-Modern-We-Are-Hiring-Instagram-Post.png","blog_images":{"medium":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blue-and-Playful-Pixel-Illustration-Modern-We-Are-Hiring-Instagram-Post-300x150.png","large":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blue-and-Playful-Pixel-Illustration-Modern-We-Are-Hiring-Instagram-Post.png"},"ams_acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5388"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5432,"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5388\/revisions\/5432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5388"},{"taxonomy":"jnews-series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yplife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fjnews-series&post=5388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}