Wilderness Experiences: When God Meets Us in the Middle of Uncertainty

 

There’s something about the wilderness that strips us bare.

In Exodus 3, Moses is tending sheep on the far side of the desert when he encounters the burning bush. He isn’t in a palace. He isn’t in a position of prestige. He is hidden, exiled, and surrounded by silence. It’s in the wilderness that God interrupts his ordinary day with an extraordinary assignment.

When I look at the current federal government shutdown, I can’t help but see parallels. For thousands of employees, it feels like a wilderness season. Work is on pause. Paychecks are uncertain. Plans are disrupted. Leaders are stretched. And yet, even in this uncomfortable pause, God has a way of showing up in burning-bush moments.

This is my fourth shutdown experience but not my first wilderness. Each season has carried its own lessons, challenges, and hidden blessings:

• 1995 (age 22): My very first shutdown. I was just starting out as a government contractor. Even though the government shut down, I was blessed to keep my paycheck because I was billed to company overhead. That experience opened my eyes early to how fragile our systems can be and how God can still cover you with favor. I also had one of my first experiences of having to accept help from friends--but that might be an entire blog topic on its own!
  
  
• 2005: I experienced my first layoff when the charter school where I worked was closed down. That moment shook me because it was the first time I truly felt the weight of instability and loss of livelihood. But it also taught me resilience, resourcefulness, and reliance on God’s provision.
  
  
• 2009 and beyond: I became a federal employee. Since then, I’ve walked through three more shutdowns:
  
  
• The second shutdown: My agency stayed open due to different funding. I felt grateful, but also carried awareness for colleagues who were impacted.
  
  
• The third shutdown: I was furloughed, but instead of frustration, I found joy in the pause—cleaning, cooking, farmers market trips, and quality time with friends. Sometimes God’s rest comes disguised as disruption.
  
  
• This fourth shutdown: I am choosing intentionality. I’m using the pause to continue writing my book and complete additional  Maxwell Leadership trainings. And yes, even while under the cloud of potential layoffs, I refuse to let fear drive me. I choose to steward my gifts and sharpen my leadership.

The wilderness is preparation. Moses didn’t realize that decades of desert living would shape him to lead a nation through the same terrain. In the same way, shutdowns and layoffs may feel like wasted time, but they are often sharpening us for greater clarity, deeper resilience, and stronger leadership.

This is where The Quintessential Perspective framework comes alive:

• Clarity: Knowing who you are when your title, paycheck, or calendar is uncertain.
• Calling: Leaning into purpose that isn’t tied to a position but anchored in divine assignment.
• Confidence: Trusting God’s voice in the silence more than the chaos of the headlines.
• Contribution: Realizing that your leadership is still needed—even when systems stall, your impact does not.

Scripture reminds us in Isaiah 43:19: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Shutdowns and layoffs may look like dry places, but God specializes in bringing life, vision, and clarity right in the middle of them.

Quintessential Leaders understand that wilderness moments refine them. Moses walked into the wilderness one way and came out carrying an assignment to deliver a nation. For me, every shutdown and even that layoff has been a refining season—one where God strips away the noise, reminds me of my why and redirects my focus. This fourth shutdown is no different. Even in the face of potential layoffs, I refuse to see this as loss. I choose to see it as leverage. Time to write. Time to train. Time to strengthen the leader within me.

Take a moment today to ask yourself:

• Where is God trying to get my attention in this wilderness?
• What clarity, calling, confidence, or contribution is He refining in me?
• How can I lead without a platform right now?

The shutdown may have closed offices and layoffs may loom, but neither can close God’s plan for your life. Just like Moses, He may be meeting you in the middle of the desert with fire that does not consume but instead ignites your purpose.

My Declaration for Today: This shutdown will not shake my purpose; it will sharpen it. This layoff threat will not bury me; it will build me.