The 40 days of the Lenten Season (leading up to Easter) are a time in which we are invited to join Jesus in His 40 days of temptation the wilderness. Mark 1:13 offers the note that Jesus was with the wild animals during this time which is certainly a detail to remind us that it wasn’t a sweet little time of resisting temptation. The environment alone was wilderness as was the experience of temptation and fasting.

Adele Calhoun shares: 

“Jesus began his ministry with forty formative days of solitude. No doubt Jesus intended to commune with God alone, but he also encountered the tempter in that desert place … Solitude is a formative place because it gives God’s Spirit time and space to do deep work. When no one is there to watch, judge and interpret what we say, the Spirit often brings us face to face with hidden motives and compulsions. The world of recognition, achievement and applause disappears, and we stand squarely before God without props.”  Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, p. 129

We often find ourselves in such a desert place. It feels harsh and unfamiliar. We might feel the compulsion to escape and run to more familiar landscape, but we are invited by God to stay where we are for it is in those dry, desolate, lonely places that the Father does some of His best work. It is in those places where our souls become dry and thirsty, unwilling to settle for clichés and easy answers. The stripping and unmasking of the desert are good for our souls. If we desire God, the wilderness is where transformation occurs.

Whether we are on a wilderness season currently or not, the Lenten season invites us to be in the wilderness with Jesus and to shaped by the Spirit through introspection, releasing, and deepening trust. This year, during the 40 days of Lent, I’d like to invite you to daily journey in the wilderness with God.

In 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, we are encouraged to revisit Israel’s time in the wilderness and how such a season did not go well for them. This passage in 1 Corinthians walks through various areas such as desires, relational patterns, trust, and expectations. 

If you decide to join me on this journey, here’s what you can expect … a daily devotional, weekly prayers, and weekly invitations to various spiritual practices.

Sign up to receive the daily devotional starting Feb 17: http://eepurl.com/uG_Df

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