Then a voice came from Heaven, “You are My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” Immediately The Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. Mark 1:11-13.
Often It is common to feel like you’re being punished in wilderness moments of life. In fact, the very word wilderness brings to mind pictures of wandering, abandonment, loneliness, barrenness and even vulnerability.
Immediately following his baptism, Jesus is driven into the wilderness for 40 days yet, right before the wilderness, The Father tells Jesus how much He loves Him and that He is so pleased with Him: “This is My Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.”
I believe It is possible for God to be “pleased” with us, yet still drive us into wilderness moments of life. It is possible for God to allow us to be tempted of satan and allow us to be out among wild beasts.
The wilderness was not punishment for Jesus and it’s not punishment for you either. The wilderness is a place of preparation, a place of testing, a place of proving where we stand in our faith on the road to reaching our destiny.
In Matthew 4, we read all the attempts Satan made to tempt Jesus in the wilderness but two key things stand out most to me: Jesus knew who His Father was, and He knew who He was - The Word made flesh.
Every test during Jesus time in the wilderness was annihilated by the Word of God! Because Jesus knew who He was and who His Father was, all He had to do in His wilderness moment was STAND! Through this picture Jesus shows us how to treat wilderness moments. When I know who I am in Christ, when I know who my Heavenly Father is in me, and when I know His Word, then all I need to do is STAND! Stand on every Word Jesus has spoken, stand on every promise He’s made. Jesus has already given me victory, so I’m still standing!!!
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
Thank you Jesus for the victory I have in you, thank you that whether it be a wilderness, a storm, a trial or test, I can STAND! Thank you for who you are in me, and thank you for teaching me daily the power of who I am in you. In your glorious name I pray. Amen.
I wanna hear your thoughts! Comment below ... what are some ways you can champion the wilderness just by simply, Standing? What does standing look like to you in a wilderness?
