The Wilderness Journey

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness. Mark 1:9-12 NIV

Consider the power in the moment of Jesus baptism. There is the presence of the Trinity. The Spirit descends from heaven like a dove and the voice of the Father proclaiming his Son. In that moment Jesus’s life came together. He took the faithful step of obedience and experienced the immediate presence and loving affirmation of God. The Messiah’s ministry began.

Why then would he immediately be taken to the wilderness, a place of isolation, no safety and ruggedness?

I think it may have something to do with the “spiritual high” of his baptism. In his humanity, Christ would have experienced an immense feeling, a profound feeling of great intimacy with the Father and Holy Spirit. In his humanity, he would have felt at the top of the world.

Wilderness situations make us hit a pause button on life. It makes us consider the high stakes and risk to our future. It is often a time where there are no quick fixes and we feel we have little control. We may experience dissatisfaction and loss of pleasure. It is often a season where we have great emotional and spiritual confusion. Imagine going from the mountain top to the desolation of the wilderness.

The Spirit led him to the wilderness and he went willingly. He went so that you and I could learn how to find hope and help in our own wilderness season. He showed us that we are not alone if we surrender ourselves to Him.

Friends, I know how difficult the wilderness can be. I walked it with my daughter during her pediatric brain cancer diagnosis for 20 years. I traveled through it during my own breast cancer diagnosis 8 years ago. I wandered aimlessly while grieving the loss of the man I loved taken too soon from lung cancer. I was crushed, broken hearted, alone and desperate. Desperate for a place, a peace only God could provide.

One evening, at my kitchen table, he reached down and wrapped his arms around me. My eyes were flooded with tears and I realized my Abba Father completely had me. I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t walking by myself. He was guiding me, directing me, loving me and holding me tight, waiting for me to make the turn to him.

The wilderness showed me in whom my trust, my complete reliance must be upon. It could not be myself, my daughter nor the love I had for my DJ. Those things will fail. They did fail. The wilderness is a time for us to reflect, and seek the One in whom our faith must be placed to lead us through to the place of milk and honey. It does not mean we will never experience it again, but it helps us remember how we made it through.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well developed, not deficient in any way. James 1:2-4 MSG

Written by Linda Williams. 
Linda Williams is a 54-year-old small town girl, in a small town church with a big love for Jesus. She has an adult daughter with disabilities who lives with her ¾ of the time and is blessed to say she is the director and developer of Five Loaves NFP in Fillmore. It is a food pantry built to serve the community and surrounding areas. You can find her at: Instagram as linash92 and on Facebook . Her devotions are posted on Facebook LindaWilliamsTheCalling.