I’ve spent some time in the wilderness lately, wandering aimlessly as I wonder why God isn’t paving the road more smoothly. And I’ve had more than one Israelite moment as I’ve complained to God, “Why are you doing this? Why are you letting us suffer so much? Why is this taking so long?”
I’m realizing, though, that like the Israelites, I’m so distracted by my suffering and doubts that I can’t see the bigger picture.
Take Jesus’ baptism, for instance. After John baptizes him in the Jordan River and the Spirit descends like a dove, the Bible says this:
Jesus was led by God toward suffering and temptation, toward a period of loneliness and vulnerability.
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.” (Matthew 4:1)
I get the fact that Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness fending off the devil’s lure. But until recently, I hadn’t considered one important detail in that verse: that he was led into the wilderness
by the Holy Spirit.Jesus was led by God toward suffering and temptation, toward a period of loneliness and vulnerability.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus just moments after his baptism. Likewise, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that soon after that, the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness. The timing is not a fluke. God went to be with his son while he endured suffering and temptation, and God comes to be with me, too, as I endure the trials of life.
I’m not suggesting that God causes suffering to teach me a lesson. But I do believe that God leads me by the hand through life’s obstacles, always with me, never forsaking me.
God didn’t abandon Jesus in the desert. And he doesn’t abandon me. The Holy Spirit may lead me into the wilderness, but he will also lead me out the other side.
{A repost from the archives as we make our way back from Minnesota this weekend}
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