Wilderness Experience

Jesus knows all about the wilderness. He spent 40 days and 40 nights there, without food (Matthew 4: 1-11). Verse two says He was hungry. That had to be an understatement. But I imagine He was thirsty too, because the days had to be brutally hot. I also imagine the desert winds whipping His face and grinding dirt into his skin. His mouth and tongue were probably coated with dust, too. And was He lonely? In that great expanse of wilderness? Among the wind and wildlife? He was probably cold after the sun went down. And the ground had to be hard and uninviting as a bed. Maybe He even had to fend off wild animals. Then at Jesus’ weakest, when He was physically drained, Satan comes along with his three temptations. And all this on the heels of Jesus’ glorious baptism in the Jordan where God His Father publically acknowledged Him not only as the “lamb who takes away the sins of the world” but as His beloved Son in whom He delighted.

Jesus responds like a gentleman and quotes scripture.  I think if I had been in His shoes and with His power, and hungry and thirsty and sandpapered by the wind for 40 days, I would have been cranky enough to squash Satan like an irritating bug. But once again, Jesus shows His superior character, His gentleness, His meekness, even to the traitor, Satan.

So why did Jesus have to endure all this? Because it was a time of preparation and, as strange as it may seem, a time of strengthening for His ministry which was to follow—both the one as sin bearer and the one as High Priest. Hebrews 4:15 (Amplified) says, “For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.”

Imagine how well God understands us because He’s allowed Himself to experience temptation and hardship! What can any of us say in the face of a God who will go to this length for man who He created and loves? I suppose nothing that really expresses the magnitude of it all can be said. We can, however, remember our precious High Priest when we are going through our own wilderness, when we think we are alone and facing trials and dangers and temptations that threaten to break us. Jesus understands. He knows our frame, our weakness, and He’s more than able to step in and be our strength. And we must also remember that our wilderness experience often times is preparation, perhaps preparation to become more Christ-like, or preparation to go into a deeper place with God, or preparation for some ministry or job He wants us to do. God never wastes anything. What’s more, He’s right there in that wilderness with us.

Until next time,

Sylvia