Matthew 4:1-4 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the WILDERNESS to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was HUNGRY. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not LIVE on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Have you ever wondered why? Have you experienced your own wilderness journey? Have you watched your children, spouse, loved one, or friend experience a wilderness time? Have you desired just to skirt around these difficult times? Or, maybe said, I wish I could take these hard times away from my children.” I know I have thought these thoughts and yearned for the peaceful trek. But are we missing out if we do that?

In reading these 4 verses for a study, I was moved to know more about these three words. They jumped off the page…I needed to know more. So out came my handy Greek word dictionary and my Blue Letter Bible app quickly covered my iphone’s screen.

What do you think of when you read wilderness? Why did it have to be a wilderness?  He was there for 40 days and 40 nights…was he not hungry earlier? What does it mean to be hungry? God said Man shall not live on bread alone…we need food to live…what does live mean? What does God’s Word have to do with our ability to live? These thoughts and questions plus more flooded my mind. And I danced, after studying these 3 words!

Just like Jesus, we will be led into wilderness experiences. This time will be a solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited place that will be deserted by others, where we will be deprived of the aid and protection of others, friends, acquaintances, family. It takes this experience, to bring us to our weakest point. A place where we will experience a hunger like never before. We will suffer want, we will be needy and we will crave ardently and begin to seek with eager desire. Right here is when we’re tested and tempted. At our weakest moment, will we turn to God, seek His face, speak His words to defeat the enemy? What will we resort to for our strength? Bread nourishes our flesh for the moment, but we LIVE on every word that comes from the mouth of God. With His word we are able to breathe, no longer are lifeless nor dead, enjoy real life and a true life, have true power, become full of vigour, and are fresh, strong, efficient, active, powerful, and efficacious.

Now this LIFE that you see when you look up live is what I desire for myself, my children, my husband, my family, my friends, my acquaintances and even my enemies. If we skirt around the wildernesses and we avoid and push away the hard times…we miss the most beautiful time of growing closer to God, leaning on His understanding, learning from His teachings, and just spending time in our Daddy’s lap being comforted. EMBRACE these times that tear away our hard exteriors and kneel before our Father to truly experience what it means to LIVE. And remember,  Jesus didn’t enter the wilderness alone…He was led by the Spirit. We too are not left alone, but led there in order to create something more beautiful than was before.

In case your wondering, what does a wilderness time look like? It is different for everyone. A few of my personal wildernesses are 2 depressions, my body revolting against being in the sun at anytime, and developing food allergies to all foods. Without these I would not be who I am today, nor would my relationship with God have grown so much. Some others could be loss of job, loss of home,death of family members, struggles with children, surviving suicide, troubles in marriage, dealing with an illness personally or with a loved one…the list is endless. Think about what your wilderness experiences have been and praise God for loving us enough to take the time to chisel away the rough edges, to love us in all our awkwardness, to be patient with us as we gradually listen to Him.

Thank you Jesus for never giving up on us, for never throwing in the white towel and saying that’s it. But rather, you sought forgiveness for us from God declaring we do not know what we do. Oh to be even a little glimmer of who you are. Thank You for Your faithfulness, trustworthiness, and Your sovereignty. Even in the midst of our trials, You are in control…nothing comes to us that hasn’t been filtered through Your loving fingertips. In Your Son’s precious name Jesus, Amen.

Word Study:

Wilderness – G2048 erēmos: solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited place; when referring to persons – deserted by others, deprived of the aid and protection of others, especially of friends, acquaintances, kindred; abandoned –  a flock deserted by the shepherd, a woman neglected by her husband, from whom the husband withholds himself.

Hungry – G3983 peinaō: to hunger, be hungry, to suffer want, to be needy and metaphorically to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire