Through It

[Give thanks] to him who led his people through the wilderness, for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:16 ESV

When I was teaching preschool, my favorite part of the day was circle time.  Depending on the age of the class I was teaching, our circle often did not look very round…  But that is not the point!

Circle time was a time for silly songs and rhymes and stories.  It was generally fun and filled with giggles, but at the heart of the circle was learning.  Hidden in the songs and stories, important lessons were being taught that would pay dividends in learning for years to come.

A favorite circle time activity was the Bear Hunt.  If you’ve never gone on a bear hunt with a group of preschoolers, you’ve missed a treat!  But in case you’re not familiar with how bears are found, let’s just say that it is not an easy process.  All along the way, obstacles are encountered.  From tall trees, to rivers, to mud pits and tall grass – as we make our way through the imaginary forest in search of bears, we cannot avoid the obstacles.  We must face them head on and deal with them.  

As I walked the path through the imaginary forest with children, we would talk our way through each barrier we faced along the way.  “We can’t go under it.  We can’t go around it.  We’ll have to go through it.”  

And so it is with the wilderness times in life.  These times are challenging, but they are unavoidable.  There is no getting around the wilderness.  You have to go through it.

For real.

We are living in an age where most things can be done virtually.  From church services to school classes to business meetings and job interviews, even doctor’s appointments – all of these activities can now be done from the comfort of your couch at home.  You can even take a virtual vacation to Paris or go sky diving through someone else’s video presentation.

Why not take a “virtual” journey through the wilderness?  We would love a bird’s eye view of the wilderness, all from a safe distance while sipping sweet tea at home.  But the truth is, many of the things that are currently being done virtually really should not be done that way.  There are some things that need to be experienced or observed firsthand.  Things need to be touched, smelled, pushed, pulled, picked up and put down.  

Your wilderness lessons cannot be learned vicariously.

Sure, there are a lot of things that we can learn through the wilderness experiences of others.  The Bible is full of wilderness stories!

Still, if you find yourself in the wilderness, it’s important to recognize that there are specific lessons there just for you.  These things must be experienced BY YOU in order for them to have the right impact.  You can’t go around them; you can’t go under them; you must go through the lessons.

When the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness, He could have turned and walked out.  He did not.  He submitted Himself to the lessons and experiences that the Father had set before Him.  These forty difficult days of preparation would provide the foundation not only for Christ’s earthly ministry, but for the exercise of our faith these many years later.

As the writer of Hebrews put it, 

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.     Hebrew 2:18 ESV

The Bible tells us that Jesus was TEMPTED in the wilderness.  We don’t get a lot of information about what the first forty days of temptation looked like, other than that Jesus ate no food and was exhausted at the end.  

We do, however, see three specific temptations at the end of the forty days that probably ring familiar with us all.    The three areas on which the devil focused his temptation of Christ are very like the areas in which we find our own faith tested:

Provision, Protection, and Pride.

These three temptations were brought to Jesus at His lowest point, when He was hungry and tired.  

Interestingly, it is a pattern that we see throughout Scripture.  These three themes seem always at the heart of temptation and struggle.  From Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, to the children of Israel on their way to the Promised Land, to the disciples as they walked the earth with Jesus, questions of provision, protection, and pride lie at the very heart of faith and trust in God.

These are the struggles that we will face in the wilderness.  As we look at how Jesus responded to these temptations and as we see in the Scriptures how the Lord brought others through these same struggles, we have the opportunity to build a foundation from which to fight these battles in our own wilderness days.

But we can’t go around the wilderness.  We’ll have to go through it.

Reflect: Which of the three temptations would you identify as the greatest struggle for you personally?

Remember: You can’t go around the wilderness.