As I was looking for a picture today this one jumped out at me. Your picture of a wilderness maybe different but they all have the same thing in common, they are a place where you can die. The wilderness is a place where growth is difficult, water is scarce, and you plod on when there's no end in sight. But wilderness experience's can happen anywhere. You can have a wilderness experience: at a graveside, at the Job Center, or in a divorce court. In the wilderness: (1) There seems to be no way out. In Scripture, the number forty represents struggle. Noah experienced storms for forty days. Moses spent forty years alone in the desert. Jesus was tempted by the Devil for forty days. (2) You begin to think the worst. The wilderness weakens your resolve. It makes you look for an easy way out. A troubled marriage can make you look the wrong way at somebody else's husband or wife. It's the breeding ground for dishonesty, depression, even pornography - things you normally wouldn't find appealing. 'Jesus...was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil...' (Luke 4:1-2 NLT) Notice: going face to face with the devil was God's idea. Jesus, the last Adam, came to succeed where the first Adam failed. 'Because one person disobeyed...many became sinners. But because one righteous person obeyed...many will be made righteous.' (Romans 5:19 NLT) Jesus overcame the devil by using God's Word. Three times He said to Satan, 'It is written.' (Luke 4:4, 8, 12 KJV) And God's Word is still your wilderness-survival guide. After using it, Jesus left the wilderness clothed in the power of God's Spirit, ready to launch His ministry. And God can do the same for you. 'He...guided them in the wilderness...He led them on safely, so that they did not fear...' (Psalm 78:52-53 NKJV) You are loved...
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