Driven by the Holy Spirit to the place of desolation, for forty days Jesus would be in the wilderness. In the wilderness, Jesus would be tested by Satan. His identity as God’s son, the one whom God loves and is well pleased, would be challenged. From the wilderness, having been tested and approved Jesus would emerge to proclaim the good news that “the Kingdom of God has come near” (Matthew 4:17).
Like Jesus, we too experience the wilderness in our lives. The wilderness is the place where all that is non-essential is stripped away. In the wilderness, that which is most important comes into laser focus. How often have you heard the question asked, “If you only had a week to live, what would you do?” The question and intimacy of near death are wilderness experiences. In the wilderness, we are challenged to align our priorities with those things that really matter. So maybe . . .
Instead of spending six hours on the phone with Comcast sales, pick-up the phone and mend a bridge that has been broken.
Instead of racing through the drive-thru, invite a long forgotten family member to dinner.
Instead of insisting on being right, forgive the one who has offended you.
Instead of building bigger barns and amassing more stuff, give it away to those who have need.
Instead of mortgaging your future, invest in the future of others.
While no one likes being in the wilderness it can be a place of blessing and grace. God will often put us in the wilderness to cause us to strip away the many distractions in our life that keep us from seeing Him clearly and depending on Him fully.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV). But what is the good that God is working out in the life of those who love him? Is it health, wealth, perpetual happiness, a new BMW in the driveway, a six-figure raise? Paul tells us the good God is working in the very next verse. The good is that you might “be conformed to the image of his Son.” In Matthew 5:48 Jesus exhorts, “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.” To be perfect is to be whole and complete, to be fully everything God created you to be. In short, it is to be conformed into the image of his son, Jesus.
In the wilderness, God will work to cleanse you and make you holy and righteous. Therefore, as one friend says, “any day is a good day to rejoice” even days in the wilderness.
Blessings,
Stephen