The Wilderness is not a fun place to be. In Scripture. In the American West. In Saharan Africa. Wilderness is a collection of misery, a host of harsh conditions all rolled into one, a survival nightmare. So why does it come up in Scripture so much? And why do we find some of the most important biblical characters in that space at crucial times in their lives?

Who do we find there?

Moses is shepherding his sheep there after being exiled from Egypt for murder: "He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush," (Exodus 3:1b-2). His brother Aaron finds him there before his return (Exodus 4:27), and Moses tells Pharaoh that's where God's people must go to worship Him: "We must go a distance of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He instructs us," (Exodus 8:27). The wilderness is where God's people wander for 40 years while they await their opportunity to enter the Promised Land (which they miss out on the first time around).

David used the wilderness as a gigantic hideout during the season when King Saul had turned away from God: "David then stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand David over to him," (1 Sam. 23:14).

Elijah also used the wilderness wasteland to hide from the wrath of Queen Jezebel after his overwhelming victory over the prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel: "He went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, 'I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my ancestors'" (1 Kings 19:4). He's discouraged because even that victory hasn't changed the hearts of God's people...or so he thinks.

And let's not forget the two most important times a journey into the wilderness shows up in the New Testament. John the Baptist conducts his entire foundation-laying ministry out in the wilderness (Matthew 3:1), and Jesus spends time there before beginning His ministry: "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil," (Matthew 4:1). Jesus intentionally goes to a place where physical privation and spiritual assault are promised before He begins His work of bringing the Kingdom to those around Him.

The point is this: before embarking upon a task of great importance, it is crucial to spend some time in the wilderness to make sure your heart is in the right place. Moses led God's people out of Egypt, and David became a mighty king after God's own heart. Elijah called people back to faithfulness in an idolatrous generation and set up faithful leaders at God's direction. John the Baptist called a faithless and confused generation to repentance and back to a right relationship with God. Jesus faced harsh criticism, cruel humiliation, torture, and a horrific death on the cross. If you're going to be about the business of the Kingdom, the time you spend being alone with God, refocusing your attention on things that last and gaining the inner strength that comes in such desolate places will be well spent.

Lent. A season of reflection. Of refocusing. Of reevaluation. Of repentance. This is your time to spend in a spiritual wilderness, with all of the distractions stripped away, to simply BE with God. How is God going to use the call of John the Baptist, the call to turn away from sin, in your life? What growth will the journey to Jesus' cross produce? What is He calling you to accomplish? What joy will come on the other side of the cross He's calling you to embrace? What will the resurrection celebration of Easter look like and feel like when seen through the lens of the cross's suffering? I pray that however deep into the wilderness God calls you, it will strengthen you to welcome expressions of the Kingdom wherever you find them, because...

Adventure is out there!
Pastor Aaron