Jeremiah 31:2 ESV
Thus says the LORD: “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest,
I’m not saying that God sends people into the wilderness to do a deeper work in them, but it does say about Jesus in Matthew 4:1, “Then Jesus was led up by this Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (tested) by the devil.” Just saying? God never causes evil, and we won’t even say that God allows things if that make us feel more comfortable, but Scripture makes it very clear that He works things. He causes all things to work together for the good, and he works all things after the counsel of His will. Romans 8; Ephesians 1.
What I am sure of is that in the wilderness, we discover more grace as we learn in the wilderness to lean on (resting in) our Beloved. The wilderness always exposes self-reliance and weakness, thus providing an opportunity to draw from more of the grace that is ours in Christ than we may have ever drawn from before. We find there that Christ is all you’ve got, and when you realize that Christ is all you’ve got, you discover that He is all you need. The crushing bends us to lean. During those times of spiritual battle, it may seem barren on the outside but by leaning on your beloved, you enter into His internal rest. Those who survive the sword of the enemy in the wilderness places survive because they found grace and rest. The cool thing is that when you come up out of the battle, the newfound grace and rest don’t go away; it becomes a permanent reality that you live in.