Choosing The Wilderness On Purpose

Scripture

1Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. Luke 4:1-2

Observation

This is not how I saw this playing out.  The previous chapter shows the powerful moment of The Father and Holy Spirit confirming Jesus as the Messiah during His water baptism.  He is now entering his public ministry right?  Nope. The Holy Spirit led Jesus out to the wilderness on purpose.  Jesus wasn’t just tempted by the devil for a few days, but the entire forty days he was in the wilderness. Biblical commentator Barclay points out, “This is the most sacred of stories, for it can have come from no other source that his own lips. At some time he must have had himself told his disciples about this most intimate experience of his soul.” Jesus overcame the three temptations that Adam and Eve fell for- Lust of the flesh, lust the eyes, pride of life (1 Jn. 2:16).  Adam and Eve had the best of everything literally surrounded by paradise with access to the best food around and yet they still hungered for what they couldn’t have. The devil didn’t have any new tricks. He thought for sure he had Jesus right where he wanted him because he could see how hungry he was. Yet, the devil missed the whole point. Jesus wasn’t just walking and talking with His Father at the end of the day after work as Adam and Eve did, but was literally hanging on every word He was saying all day everyday. (Vs. 4). Jesus was full in spirit when the devil tempted His appetites. The advantage of the wilderness was that every other distraction was removed and Jesus had nothing to prove. His Father had already told Him He was proud of Him before He had done a single miracle. So, when the devil came to get him to perform, to cast doubt on The Fathers love, to play on His hunger it didn’t work.  The wilderness didn’t weaken Jesus’ walk, but actually strengthened it.

Application

Turns out I’ve spent my life avoiding what Jesus chose.  In fact, at the end of this chapter Jesus went out to the wilderness (vs. 42) on purpose to get away from the very crowds I’m usually chasing. Fasting, solitude, silence, and prayer are the weapons that are sharpened in the wilderness and dulled in the day to day.  Why was it that Holy Spirit led Jesus to the wildness and wants to lead me to the same? E'yen A. Gardner, in his book Humbly Submitting to Change - The Wilderness Experience, wrote, “The wilderness is a place that every believer has to experience to be molded for their divine purpose.”  Could it be that the faith of the modern day Christian is so weak and susceptible to the slightest temptation because we have been ignoring the leading of the Holy Spirit?  He’s not calling us to the wilderness to punish us but to prepare us.  We see this confirmed by looking at the people of Israel who faced the same three temptations in the wilderness and failed (Deut. 8:3, 6:16, 6:13). Between the slavery of Egypt and the Promised Land is the wilderness where God longs to reveal Himself in a way that can’t be done any other way. Will I continue to spend my life running from the very place God is calling me to?

Prayer

Lord, my Americanized Christianity, my comfort and my rights, don’t align with this wilderness theology. Yet, You have called me to go deeper in You this year then I ever have before which means I need to go where I haven’t wanted to go.  You aren’t calling me to wander in the wilderness with no purpose, but rather to run to the wilderness to refine my purpose in You!