Set aside this time as a sacred pause. Find a quiet space where you can breathe deeply, settle your body, and give your full attention to what is unfolding within and around you. You may want to silence notifications, light a candle, hold a journal nearby, or simply sit with your feet grounded on the floor. There is no need to rush. This guide is not something to complete as quickly as possible, but an invitation to listen — to God, to yourself, and to the realities that often go unnamed in the busyness of life. Move slowly through each section. Read the scripture more than once. Sit with the questions. Let silence do some of the work.

The wilderness is rarely where we expect transformation to happen.

When we imagine growth, healing, or clarity, we often picture a destination — a moment when everything becomes clear and settled. We imagine arriving somewhere stable and resolved. But the story of God’s people tells a different truth.

Much of their formation happened not at the destination, but in the wilderness.

The wilderness was uncomfortable. It was uncertain. The people did not know exactly where they were going or how long the journey would take. Yet it was precisely in that unfinished space that they learned dependence, trust, and community. Each morning they woke to gather manna — daily provision that reminded them they were sustained one step at a time.

The wilderness was not evidence of God’s absence.
It was a place where God’s presence took on a new form.

Hard seasons in our lives often feel like this wilderness. Plans change. Certainty dissolves. The future becomes unclear. We find ourselves living in the middle of something — between what was and what will be.

Yet scripture reminds us that God does not wait for clarity before showing up. God meets people in the in-between.

Listen to this episode of the Be Well Podcast, Finding God in Between, which reflects on encountering God in fragmented, uncertain, and liminal spaces. The conversation explores how moments of transition and ambiguity can become places where spiritual insight and healing emerge.

As you listen, consider the ways God may appear not only in clear answers but also in the questions themselves.

As you watch, listen for how this student describes navigating uncertainty or transition. What emotions or experiences in their story resonate with your own? Notice how moments of uncertainty can also become places where insight, courage, or resilience begins to grow.

God of the wilderness,
meet me in the unfinished spaces of my life.
When uncertainty makes me anxious, remind me that you are present in every step of the journey.
Teach me to trust the daily bread you provide — enough strength, enough clarity, enough hope for today.
Help me recognize that formation is happening even when the path ahead remains unclear.
Amen.

Let today remind you that wilderness is also sacred ground.
Uncertainty does not mean that God has stepped away. Sometimes the in-between is exactly where transformation begins. Like manna in the desert, provision often appears one day at a time.

You do not need to see the entire journey to take the next faithful step.
Trust that even here — in the unfinished places — God is present.

Return to Main Formation Week 2026 page.