When God Goes Quiet: Surviving (and Growing Through) Your Wilderness Season with Marti Darcangelo and Jessica Deyoung

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts!Wilderness seasons are real, and they are rarely fun — but they are never wasted. In this episode, Jan, Marti, and guest Jessica DeYoung pull back the curtain on what it actually looks like to walk through a spiritual wilderness: the silence, the confusion, the doubt, and yes, the breathtaking encounter with God on the other side.Jessica shares vulnerably about a recent “teaching wilderness” where she did everything right — read her Bible, prayed, kept showing up — and still felt completely alone. Marti brings grounded wisdom about leaning into God’s attributes and choosing obedience over emotion. Jan anchors it all in the truth that Psalm 23 gives us: we walk *through* the valley, not *into* it forever.If you’re in a dry season, a waiting season, or a season where God just feels far away — this one’s for you. And if you’re on the mountain right now? Listen anyway. Because Marti says it plainly: it might be coming.Grab your journal, a cup of something warm, and settle in.Provision & Dependence — God strips away comfortable resources so we learn to trust Him alone, one day at a time (Deuteronomy 8, Exodus 16, Philippians 4).Transformation & Purpose — The wilderness is where character, patience, and maturity are formed. God is always doing a new thing in it (Isaiah 43, Hosea 2, Romans 5, James 1).Guidance & Presence — From the pillar of fire to the valley of the shadow, God's presence leads and comforts in the darkest wilderness moments (Exodus 13, Psalm 23, Isaiah 41).Testing & Overcoming — Even Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit. It is a place of preparation, not punishment (Matthew 4, Isaiah 40, 1 Kings 19).Eternal Perspective — Wilderness seasons are temporary and never wasted. They produce eternal fruit and teach us to cry out to God (2 Corinthians 4, Psalm 107).https://uppbeat.io/t/jonny-easton/warming-lightLicense code: EUXRWYWTFRNQMRXO00:00 Intro — Welcome & Introducing Jessica DeYoung02:30 What IS a Wilderness Season? (Jessica sets the foundation)07:15 How God Meets Us in the Wilderness — Moses, the Israelites, and Us11:00 Marti’s Definition: A Temporary Space of Active Transformation15:45 The Things That Happen In the Wilderness — Death of Self-Reliance, Testing, Preparation19:00 Jesus in the Wilderness — Why If He Went Through It, We Will Too22:30 How the Enemy Works in the Wilderness — Scripture as Our Defense27:00 When You Don’t Even Know You’re In One — Recognizing the Season30:15 Marti’s Honest Confession: Doing It the Wrong Way vs. the Lord’s Way34:00 Practical Tools: Leaning into Quiet, God’s Attributes, Philippians 4:837:30 Building Habits NOW So You’re Ready for the Next Wilderness40:00 Jessica’s Recent Teaching Wilderness — A Vulnerable Personal Story46:00 Community, Journaling & Memorial Stones49:30 The Book of Habakkuk — A Wilderness Masterclass53:00 Paul in Prison — 2 Timothy 4:16-18 (Marti reads aloud)57:00 God Is Unteaching You to Reteach You — Paul’s Three Years in Galatians60:00 Psalm 73:23-26 — He Holds You by Your Right Hand63:30 Final Encouragements — Marti, Jessica & Jan67:00 Outro — “Be Prepared. It Might Be Coming.”Welcome to Just Talkin' About Jesus.I'm Jan Johnson, a seasoned believer who loves relationships and, you know, just talkin' about Jesus.Here you will find testimonies of those who God has changed through his grace.Stories of feeling unworthy because of being sex trafficked, or of radical redemption of a woman who grew up with abuse, neglect, abandonment and drugs. A story of an abortion survivor. This and more. Lean in now. Consider subscribing to this podcast, YouTube and Substack- all with the same name: Just Talkin' About Jesus!https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesushttps://jan-johnson.com/https://justtalkingaboutjesus.com/https://janjohnsonauthor.substack.com/https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesusThanks for listening!If you have a story to tell, check out the form on my website- justtalkingaboutjesus.com.I'd love to connect with you!No, really.... hit me up!