Walking Through the Wilderness

There were so many great comments in the Mark 1:1-13 post that talked about or alluded to the role "the wilderness" plays in our Christian lives that I wanted to open up a chance to talk about it more. The Children of Israel spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. Jesus spent 40 days there, surrounded by wild beasts and being tempted by Satan. And John the Baptist--he lived there!

But God sustained all of them while the sojourned through the wilderness, and even seemed to be with them in a special way--feeding the Israelites and guiding them with pillars of fire and smoke, sending angels to attend to Jesus, and pouring out an amazing measure of his Spirit on John, the man appointed to point the way to the Messiah. The time in the wilderness wound up playing a crucial role in their spiritual lives.

What about you? What role have those dry, desolate, and difficult places played in your life? Have they helped you find clarity? Made you aware of God's care and provision? Strengthened you for a coming task? Or just brought you to the end of yourself, so you could begin relying fully on God?

Let's chat.