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| Mark 1:12-13 Following Jesus into the Wilderness |
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A true Christ follower allows God to direct their steps and can recognize God’s hand upon them as they journey from earth to glory. Along the way, they learn that it is good for them to release more of their self dependence and become more God reliant. As they submit to the will of God, they receive all the strength and endurance that they need for the journey that is not void of wilderness periods.
In Mark 1:9-11, as John was baptizing all of the people who were repenting of their sins, Jesus appears on the scene. This is the most unlikely time for the Son of God to show up. Jesus had no need to repent of sins because He was sinless. But yet, He allowed John to baptize Him. His baptism was not for sins, but was to identify with people in their sin showing His willingness to submit to God’s judgment of their sin.
Jesus’ submission to the Father’s will, which meant certain death on a cross, was pleasing to the Father and demonstrated by the Father’s words and the Spirit’s descent upon Jesus at His baptism. After the Spirit descends upon Jesus, something unexpected takes place.
The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.
(Mark 1:12-13 ESV)
“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” Jesus had already went into the wilderness to be baptized by John the Baptist, but now the Spirit that descended upon Him after the baptism drives Him out further into the wilderness into such a seclusion that there would be no other inhabitants besides the wild animals. In the Old Testament we are presented with Israel who is supernaturally delivered out of bondage only to be led into the wilderness to dwell for 40 years. In the wilderness they often fell to temptation and made wrong choices. Jesus would not. He would face great temptation, but He would make the right choices based upon God’s Word. He would come out of the wilderness ready to minister to people at their point of need as He headed toward an old rugged cross to suffer and die for our sins.
Let’s make some observations about the wilderness and see how it is relevant to us in our day. First of all, the wilderness is a place of utter helplessness. It is where a person can be drawn close to God. It’s where we learn to trust and depend on God instead of trusting and depending upon our own abilities or the abilities of others. I have found that we can go through many wilderness periods in our life as God prepares us for what is ahead of us as we follow Christ and continue His point of need ministry. The key for us is to recognize that we are in the wilderness and utilize our time there to draw closer to God. We should not be focused on getting out of the wilderness or the time that we are allocated to stay there. Instead, our focus should be on drawing closer to God and trusting Him more.
Secondly, notice that it is God that leads us into the wilderness. As we follow Christ on our journey from earth to glory, it is the Spirit that drives us into the wilderness. It’s a God thing. He desires us to draw close to Him and allow Him to prepare us for the ministry ahead of us on our journey. Each Christ follower has great potential in God’s Kingdom and revealing that Kingdom here on earth, but they must be prepared. Beloved, the wilderness is where such preparation is made.
Thirdly, know that the timing of us entering the wilderness is in God’s perfect timing. In Jesus’ case, the Spirit did not waste any time. After Jesus submitted to the will of Father which was pleasing to God, the Spirit “immediately drove Him out into the wilderness”. If you are not already in the wilderness being prepared by God for the next step in your journey, you have either just came out or you are getting ready to go in. The timing is God’s. Beloved, allow Him to do a full work in you as you focus entirely upon Him.
Know that we will be tempted in these wilderness periods. The wilderness is not easy. We will be tempted to take matters into our own hands. We will be tempted to do it our own way. We will be tempted to get back to the safety and comfort of what we have grown accustomed to. We will be tempted to try to go back the way we came. Temptation will come and we will be given a choice. God will lead us into the wilderness, but he will not make choices for us there that will override our human will. If He did, he would not be a just God. So, He leads us into a position where we can become more reliant upon Him, but the enemy of our soul will try to distract us and try to get us to make the wrong choices. All the devil can do is tempt us. He can’t make choices for us and God won’t. We will have to decide to allow God to do a work in the midst of our wilderness or believe the lies of the devil. Beloved, allow God to do a work in the midst of your wilderness. You will be glad that you did.
Lastly, know that God will minister to us in the wilderness. Beloved, as you make the right choices and not give into the temptation that comes in the wilderness, God will strengthen you. He will sustain you. He will lead you out of the wilderness in due season. He will make a way where there seems to be no way. And when He leads you out, He will lead you in to a work for Him that will be awesome. It will be mindboggling. It will be God.
Beloved, as we follow Jesus into the wilderness, the place of helplessness, we will learn that it is there that we grow dependent upon God. It is God that leads us there because He desires to do a work in us that will allow us to reach our full potential in His Kingdom. God does this work in His timing and not ours. Temptation will come to us and as we make the right choices instead of believing the lies of the devil, we will be given strength and endurance for our journey as God ministers to us right there in our wilderness.
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