Have you ever found yourself in an unknown place? You were on a journey and knew where you were going. Yet, the intended destination isn’t where you arrived. Unfortunately, the place looks nothing like you hoped. Trouble and uncertainty abound and you can’t find your way out. Because of purpose, you arrived at the wilderness. What do you do now? Is it possible that the way of the wilderness is your path to purpose?
The Story: Luke 4
In Luke 4, Jesus is in the wilderness, where the Spirit led Him. While there, He ate nothing. At the end of the 40 days, He was hungry and the devil came to tempt Him. The devil tried to tempt Him three times, but on each occasion, Jesus responded with the Word of God. After the failed attempts, the devil left.
Following the wilderness encounter, Jesus went to His birthplace and read the scriptures in church. People murmured because they knew His birth family. Jesus wasn’t moved by their words as He knew that prophets weren’t accepted in their own town. As a result, Jesus left. He traveled to other towns were He delivered some from unclean spirits and healed others.
The Lesson
In Luke 4, we see that Jesus had to go the way of the wilderness before beginning His public ministry. If Jesus had to follow a less than stellar path on the way to destiny, then we’re not exempt. From this pit stop, we discover a few tidbits.
- The wilderness isn’t a mistake. Although we didn’t plan to go this way, God knows the way that we take (Job 23:10). He even led the children of Israel through the wilderness (Exodus 13:18). God led us here. Unfortunately, we’ve been conditioned to think that the wilderness is our mistake and punishment. God says not so! Our wilderness is part of His plan.
- The wilderness shows our strength. While in the place of uncertainty, we discover what’s inside of us. We find the source of our strength and reliance. Is what we depend on is able to support us in this place? Ultimately, are we relying on God or self? Before we leave this place, we will discover the strength of God to lead us out at the appointed time. Therefore, the wilderness is a place of discovery.
- The wilderness leads to purpose. After our wilderness experience, we launch into purpose. There was no set duration for the wilderness; yet, we emerged ready to move toward purpose. We lived, learned, and now it’s time to lead.
God’s plan and purpose awaits us. He equipped us with everything we need for the assignment ahead. Yes, there will be those who doubt us and bring up our past. We may even be our own critics. Above all, we don’t owe anyone an explanation including ourselves. Therefore, trust what God said, dust our feet (Matthew 10:14), and continue on to those who need what we have.
