In The Wilderness

Behold, I will do a new thing; Now it shall spring forth; Shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.                              Isaiah 43:19 KJV

Have you ever had a wilderness experience? Possibly you are having one now and you are asking, “God, where are you?” “Don’t you care?” “Can’t you see I am suffering?”

The answer is that He is with you; He does care; and He knows and understands your suffering. For He said, “Do not fear, for I Am with you; do not be dismayed, for I Am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

Jesus had the pivotal wilderness experience when the Spirit of God led Him into the wilderness to pray and fast for forty days and forty nights. It was there that He interceded and redeemed mankind from the three, greatest destructive forces against the human spirit: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). He would “finish” that work on the cross.

The tempter came to Jesus and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” (Matthew 4:3 NKJV). The first thing that Satan did was appeal to the lust of the flesh, because Jesus was physically weakened from lack of food. However, there was nothing to prove, because Jesus was and is the living Bread of Life, which came down from heaven (John 6:51).

Jesus responded, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone (that which sustains the flesh) but by every Word (that which sustains the spirit and soul) which proceeds from the mouth of God'” (Matthew 4:4 NKJV). Jesus, the incarnate Word, spoke the Word, and in that moment, His Word defeated the power of the lust of the flesh.

Then the devil took Jesus up to the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:5 NKJV). In other words, “The angel’s won’t let you fall.” Jesus responded, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God,'” Jesus defeated the pride of life (an inflated ego) that succumbs to temptation before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

“Tempt” means to entice, persuade, convince, coax, and woo someone into doing something. That is what Satan successfully did with Eve and what he attempts to do with us. He entices and appeals to carnal desires by convincing us that we deserve and need what we know we should not have.

If we think we are immune to Satan’s temptations, how many have been on a diet and someone offered a forbidden dessert? Suddenly, that voice in our head said,this one time won’t matter. How many other forbiddens have we given into?

Again, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain to see all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said to Him, “All these things I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9 NKJV)

Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'” Then the devil left, and angels came and ministered to Him (Matthew 4:10 NKJV). Jesus had defeated the lust of the eyes that entices a person to sin.

Satan will engage us in a debate and plant seeds of doubt that question God’s authority, goodness, intentions, and integrity. He did it with Eve when he said, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5) He created doubt in Eve’s mind by accusing God of being a withholder of good things and tempted her with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which brought about the fall of Adam and Eve and all mankind.

Jesus experienced His lowest physical reserve during those forty days and forty nights. We have all been at our lowest physical, mental, and spiritual reserve, but unlike Jesus, we have felt tempted to give in. Thankfully, we have fasting, prayer, and God’s Word available to us, which provide strength to the inner man and make a way for God’s power to work in and through us.

Satan was put in his place when Jesus dismissed him with His Word and told him to leave, for Satan has no authority, except what God gives him and what we give him. Our authority was bought and paid for with the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We are expected to emulate the Lord who said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father (John 14:14 NLT).

The devil finally left when Jesus said, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written…” We are to speak God’s Word in the same manner when Satan comes with his lies, temptations, accusations, and deceptions.

Why did Jesus fast forty days and forty nights? Throughout scripture, the number forty is connected with judgment, punishment, redemption, and God’s reigning authority.

God caused it to rain forty days and forty nights as judgment on an evil generation (Genesis 7:12). As judgment for rebellion and worshipping idols, the Israelites wandered the desert for forty years (Deuteronomy 8:2-5). Moses fasted bread and water on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights to intercede for the Israelites who had committed wickedness and provoked God to destroy them (Deuteronomy 9:18). Of the numerous examples cited in God’s Word, the most telling are the forty days from Jesus’ death to His ascension, which represent the completed redemption of mankind and Christ’s eternal reign as King of kings.

Satan came to temp Jesus with the original three deadly sins that caused man’s fall. But in the wilderness and at the cross, Jesus defeated Satan’s power over death and life, thereby, releasing mankind from bondage to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Although He provided our escape, we choose whether to succumb to those temptations or to resist them.

If we find ourselves in the “wilderness,” God is calling us to seek Him with our whole heart through prayer and fasting. Of course we are not expected to fast forty days, but fasting a day or more will deny the flesh, so that we can become spiritually minded and sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and instruction. For it is in those wilderness experiences that faith is tested, nurtured, and matured, as we learn to trust and depend on God.

PRAYER:  LORD, Your Son defeated the works of the enemy. He made a way for me in the wilderness, so I could be free from bondage to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Give me wisdom and discernment to recognize those sins, and help me resist their temptations. In Jesus name, amen.