The Wilderness Experience: The Hidden Classroom Where Destiny is Formed

Before success becomes visible, it is first tested in obscurity. Every great destiny — whether spiritual, professional, or personal — must pass through what Babs Oladele calls “the wilderness experience.” It is not a tragedy, not a punishment, and not a delay. It is a refining corridor between who you are now and who you must become.

This message emerged in Chapter 53 of ThriVe! With Babs, part of the ongoing series, Navigating the Journey of Destiny. For weeks, this series has pulled destiny out of religious abstraction and brought it into practical, lived experience. And this chapter — on the wilderness season — sits at the center of everything: the turning point where character is shaped, purpose is clarified, and a person becomes ready for responsibility.

1. Understanding Destiny Beyond the Familiar

Babs began the session by reframing what destiny really is.
Destiny, he explained, is universal in concept but deeply personal in interpretation. Every person senses they are going somewhere, meant for something, shaped for a purpose — yet no two journeys look the same.

The trouble is that most people romanticise destiny. They see the promised land but overlook the long walk, the detours, the contradictions, and the seasons of silence that shape the soul.

That is where the wilderness comes in.

2. The Wilderness Experience: God’s Classroom of Character

The wilderness is not a place of punishment but “God’s classroom,” a crucible designed for formation more than comfort.

• Here, God does not shout.
• Here, applause is absent.
• Here, one’s name is not called.
• Here, nothing seems to move at the speed you desire.

But in this obscurity, you become someone worthy of being revealed.

A Biblical Pattern with Modern Implications

Drawing from the biblical Exodus, Babs explained that the Israelites’ journey teaches a timeless truth:

• The wilderness is meant for preparation

• How long it lasts depends on the learner

• Complaining prolongs the stay

• The transformation accelerates it

In this hidden season, Israel received:

• their laws

• their identity

• their system of worship

• The blueprint of the Tabernacle — a structure that still defines Jewish culture today

What looks like a delay often becomes the birthplace of legacy.

3. Why God Hides You Before He Reveals You

Obscurity is one of God’s greatest gifts.
It shields you from premature exposure, protects you from the burden of applause, and strips you down to who you truly are.

The wilderness gives you:

• room to think

• privacy to heal

• space to grow

• silence to hear

• time to develop

Many grow bitter in obscurity.
The wise grow better.

This hidden season is not where destiny dies — it is where destiny is formed.

4. Lessons from The Decline: An Honest Look in the Mirror

One of the session’s most compelling teachings was the call to self-honesty.

Before a person can rise, they must first examine:

• the choices that led them here

• the habits that weakened them

• the patterns that tripped them

• the relationships that shaped their outcomes

Babs emphasized that the wilderness offers the emotional distance we often need to evaluate ourselves without defensiveness.

“You must analyze your decline,” he said — not to condemn yourself but to understand the terrain you must never walk again.

Clarity begins with truth.

5. How to Make the Most of the Wilderness Season

From here, Babs introduced five transformative strategies — not simply as bullet points but as practical pillars for navigating difficult seasons with purpose and dignity.

1. Analyze the Causes

— Understand why you are where you are.
— Ask uncomfortable questions.
— Trace the roots of your stagnation or failures.
— Insight is impossible without honesty.

2. Set Guardrails

Every destiny needs boundaries — emotional, financial, relational, spiritual.
Guardrails prevent a return to cycles the wilderness is trying to break.

3. Fortify Yourself Spiritually

The wilderness is where prayer becomes deeper, motives become purer, and divine direction becomes clearer.
It is where your spirit gains weight.

4. Invest in Self-Development

Use the silence of the wilderness to sharpen skills, refine mindset, and grow your competence.
The season may obscure you, but it must never diminish you.

5. Turn Insights into Tangible Outcomes

Every wilderness offers revelation — and revelation must become creation.
Whether it becomes:

• a product

• a solution

• a system

• a concept

• a book

• a business

— the point is this: you should emerge with something in your hands.

Israel built the Tabernacle in their wilderness.
You, too, must build something.

6. The Books, Mentors, and Wisdom That Shape a Destiny Mindset

Babs offered a rare behind-the-scenes look into the influences that shaped his understanding of destiny.

He draws from:

• the Bible, not merely as scripture, but as leadership literature

• Shakespeare’s exploration of human nature

• African proverbs and traditional wisdom frameworks

• modern personal development thinkers

• and especially Jim Rohn, his most influential life mentor

These streams of wisdom converge in the wilderness season, offering perspective and anchoring during life’s confusing stretches.

7. Using Your Wilderness Wisely: Obscurity as Preparation, Not Punishment

The wilderness season is not a waiting room; it is a workspace.
It is not a pause; it is preparation.
It is not silence; it is shaping.

The worst thing a person can do in obscurity is waste it — becoming bitter, depressed, or resentful.

The best thing a person can do in obscurity is convert it — into clarity, into competence, into spiritual strength, into emotional intelligence, into strategic readiness.

When success finally arrives, you will not crumble under it because the wilderness already tested your foundations.

8. The Journey Ahead: Managing Success After the Wilderness

As the session drew to a close, Babs announced the final chapter of the Destiny Series:

“How to Manage Success”
— next Sunday at 6 PM Nigerian time (5 PM UK).

Because success, if mishandled, can destroy what the wilderness built.
And for many people, success — not failure — becomes the downfall.

This final session will explore how to sustain momentum, protect character, and steward opportunities without losing the discipline, humility, and clarity forged in obscurity.

9. Invitations, Reminders, and What Comes Next

Participants were encouraged to:

• revisit past recordings on YouTube

• join the WhatsApp group for daily quotes and reflections

• subscribe via the website for direct insights

• invite friends to the concluding session

• and reflect deeply on their own wilderness seasons

Babs will also expand these teachings into an upcoming book — a deeper dive into destiny, growth, and the transformative power of obscurity.

Final Thought

The wilderness is not the story — it is the preparation.
It is where God hides you so He can build you.
And when the time is right, He reveals what He has refined.

You do not escape the wilderness.
You graduate from it.

And when you finally step into success, you will carry with you the depth, the clarity, and the stability that only obscurity can teach.