And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. – Joshua 6:2, KJV

For the Christian, every wilderness wandering is preparation for our next work for God. Sometimes the wandering will be our fault, a result of our disobedience to God’s direction. Other times, the wandering will result from no fault of our own, like Joseph’s slavery and imprisonment. Whether the wandering was our fault or not, God can use the wandering to prepare us for a greater work.

By the time the Israelites were ready to invade Jericho, they had become battle-ready during their wilderness wandering. There were no warriors among them when they came out of Egypt; there were only slaves. It took the wilderness to make Israel ready to fight, and it was after this incubation period that God used Israel to execute His judgment on the wicked inhabitants of the promised land (Leviticus 20:23).

Before his slavery and imprisonment, Joseph had shown leadership qualities at home. But leading at home, though important, would not ready the man for the job he had to do. It was only after more than a decade of slavery and imprisonment that he was ready to lead a nation, for it was in slavery and in prison where his skills of leadership were sharpened.

When not suffering ourselves, it is easy to say that suffering’s purpose is to be the training ground for some greater work God has in store. When in the midst of suffering, we lose sight of this due to the fact that all we want is relief. Only God knows when the relief will come, but you and I can know this: the wilderness holds lessons for us. Learn them, and pray for God to make you ready, willing, and able to use those lessons for the benefit of others.