From Deserts to Destinies

“Jesus…was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” Luke 4:1-2.

I’ve heard the story of Satan tempting Jesus in the desert many times but one fact escaped me until this morning. Although Satan tempted Jesus throughout the timeframe it was at the close of this time when the 3 toughest temptations in Luke occurred. It was when Jesus’ hunger was greatest and His resistance was probably lowest. The Bible states that He was led into the desert by the Spirit and then later in Luke 4:14 led by the Spirit out of the desert.

The example of Jesus is one to which we are to follow. We certainly won’t be perfect in our pursuit but we can be intentional in our response to temptation since we are fall prey to them. Just like Jesus, we must realize that sometimes we find ourselves in the desert by no fault of our own. Most times we are led into the desert to teach us something about hearts. Other times it is the vehicle God uses to prepare us for ministry just like He did Jesus. Jesus was also spiritually savvy in the fact that any retort to Satan’s tempting was met with God’s words, not the words of Jesus. When we are at our lowest or weakest, that is not the time to speak our own words. We must press on in prayer for the Lord to give us the grace and discernment to operate within our weaknesses. We must be on high alert that when we find ourselves in the wilderness we are not alone. We are surrounded by God and His many provisions, but we are to be shrewd in understanding that Satan is an opportunist. The closer we get to the crossing from desert to destiny, Satan will throw the books at us to distract us from crossing over. It will be at the closing of our tough season that he becomes desperate, pulling out all stops. But God is stronger and relentlessly resolute, because He sees where He is taking us. He is ready to take our hand, look up ahead and walk us into our beautiful destinies.

Your wilderness won’t last forever but don’t resist the heart-work that God intends on accomplishing during this time. Get in the word, arm yourself with God’s provisions and prepare for greatness! ‘He humbles us before the harvest so that we know it’s His power and glory, not ours.’ Steadfast Love, Lauren Chandler, p. 55.