Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the wilderness to the Promised Land. It should have only taken them a few weeks, even with a large crowd. But it took them 40 years.

What in the world were they doing? For 40 years, they were walking around in a circle. God was giving them one test after another and saying, “Will you trust me?” There were seven tests. Every time they failed the test, he sent them on another lap around the wilderness. But even in that wilderness, they were not there by accident.

Some of you are in the wilderness right now. Remember this: The way to the Promised Land is through the wilderness. You’ve got to go through that waiting period. You’ve got to go through that desert. You’ve got to go through that dry spell.

You are waiting in the wilderness for a purpose. And while you’re waiting, you need to keep a record of the lessons you’re learning.

Numbers 33:2 says, “At the LORD’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress” (NLT).

The Bible also says, “Remember today what you have learned about the LORD through your experiences with him” (Deuteronomy 11:2 GNT).

Are you keeping a written record of your progress in the Christian life? Are you writing anything down? You need to start keeping a journal when you’re waiting. A journal is different than a diary. A diary is for events; a journal is for lessons.

In the waiting periods of life, little lessons lead to big successes. Some of the tiniest lessons you’ll learn in dry periods, in depressing periods, in discouraging periods will be the keys to big successes in your life. Little lessons lead to big successes. So you need to write them down!

Psalm 119:33 is a good prayer to pray when you’re in the wilderness and waiting for God to deliver you: “GOD, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course” (MSG).

Say to him, “God, I don’t want to wander around. Teach me how to live so I can get through this with the minimum amount of time. I don’t want to be here for 40 years. I don’t want to go in circles. Teach me the lessons for life so I can stay on track and grow in spiritual maturity.”