Led Into The Desert

We are all born with a thirst.  From the moment we come into this world, we begin to want and desire something to satisfy us, to nourish us, to make us whole and to give our lives meaning and purpose.  And many of us, myself included, go through this life looking for anything we can to quench that thirst.  Sometimes we find shallow meaning in identification with the material things we possess, and sometimes we find it in the pursuit of anything and anyone that makes us "feel" good.

When it comes to material stuff, this is evident even at the young age of two years.  I've watched my daughters find their identity in their toys.  I've seen how possessive and protective they became as they would guard their toys from each other and other kids.  How many of us have watched as our own children have grabbed a toy off the floor or even away from another child and held it close as they said, “Mine!”  We do this as adults, too.  

We like our “stuff” We spend a lot of time collecting stuff, dusting stuff, waxing stuff, fixing stuff, shopping for stuff, and displaying stuff.  It’s ok to do all of those things with stuff.  It’s when the “stuff” starts to consume our lives and become too important – more important than your relationships…with family, friends, people, and God.  You can’t take it with you, even if the bumper sticker on the car in front of you says, “He Who Dies with The Most Toys Wins!”

That is a lie sold to us by the world.  Satan whispers this in our ears all the time.  Satan even tempted Jesus with the promise of stuff. 

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."  But he answered, "It is written,

"'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Then the devil took him to the holy city and 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 will command his angels concerning you,' and

"'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
 

"'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"  Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.  - Matthew 4:8-11

This is what Satan and this world want from us; the same thing they wanted from Jesus:  To have us fall to our knees and be consumed by idolatry and worship of anything but our Father God.  To have us look to the cup of this world to quench the dryness of our spirit.  The mind-blowingly beautiful and wondrous fact is that the same power that our Jesus used to resist temptation now lives in us who are disciples of Christ.

God said we will be tempted.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”  – 1 Peter 5:8

God does not let us be tempted without giving us a way out.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13

And God tells us that when we live in the ways of the Holy Spirit, we will not seek to fulfill our fleshly, worldly desires and temptation will not lead to sin.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” – Galatians 5:16

Did you know that it is truth that if we “walk by the Spirit” as God says, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh – we will not seek to quench our thirst with anything other than God.  Sure, we will have the desire of the flesh, and that is natural and part of being human.  It's how we fulfill those desires - when we seek to satisfy those desires in a way that does not glorify God, we are sinning and shrinking God in our hearts.  We can't shrink God in our hearts if we are being led by the Spirit.

And God has given us the most powerful weapon to use when we are tempted – His Word.

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” – Psalm 119:11

What did Jesus do when He was tempted by Satan, He quoted scripture!

 Look above in Matthew 4:1-11.  Each time Jesus was tempted by Satan, Jesus quoted scripture.  And God’s Word is Truth and it wins every single time when placed against Satan’s lies.  

(So, spend more time with your nose buried between the pages of The Bible.  I've been doing this a lot lately because I was convicted on the sad and pathetic amount of time I have spent reading books about God’s Word instead of actually reading His Word.)

Even Jesus was led into the desert by God so He would fully know what it is to be tempted and tried like we are - and to show us how we can overcome temptation – and also to show us that none of us are safe from temptation.

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. “ – Matthew 4:1

And God takes ordinary people, just like us, and leads us into the desert as well, in order to show us that all we need is Him.

I was reading Hosea and digging in to the story of Hosea and Gomer.  God took Gomer into the desert too:

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the desert, and speak tenderly to her.” – Hosea 2:14

Sometimes we thirst so much, and we are not willing to quench that thirst with Jesus, the only one who can fully satisfy us.  Sometimes, all too often, we hold on to that very last drop in our own cup, no matter how bitter tasting it is.  And sometimes, God brings us into the desert to show us just how much we need Him and how only He can satisfy our parched souls.