How often do we try to rush through a season in the wilderness or plain ignore that we are there? When Christ performed his first miracle, he made his presence known. It was the beginning of the end of the story the people of Israel had known. Even though they did not immediately recognize Jesus as the Messiah, each interaction that followed more and more began to see what was to come in Christ.
Hope began to arise for those in the wilderness. Psalm 25:4 – 6 says, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you, I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.” After Christ was baptized and the Spirit came down on him, Mark 1:9-15 tells us that the Spirit sent him into the wilderness. Not to the temple, not to the people, but to the wilderness where he was tempted for 40 days and the angels ministered to him.
How often do you find yourself ready to move forward in the direction you know you are supposed to go towards but feel like God is holding you back and asking you to wait? How can you dive deeper into a season of waiting during Lent? How can you seek the Lord in a journey through the wilderness?
Scripture to Meditate on:
Mark 1:9-15, ESV
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;[a] with you I am well pleased.”
12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 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.
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;[b] repent and believe in the gospel.”
Others to read: Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22
Song of Meditation:
Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher