Ever taken a trip into the woods?  Where I grew up in Alabama, we had some thick woods around us with some mighty tall pine trees.  These woods were safe, but if I ventured in far enough, I felt like I was out in the middle of nowhere – away from civilization.  (If you are reading this and you’re not from Bama, you may be thinking…”Alabama IS in the middle of nowhere, away from civilization!)  Boo to you if that is the case!!

Anyway, venturing into the woods or wilderness can be scary.  It can be isolating and create loneliness.  Sometimes we hit a wilderness in life where we are alone.  God seems silent, temptations are great and we feel all alone.  What do we do with that?  How do we walk out life in the midst of a wilderness?

Jesus was led into the wilderness in Luke 4 by the Spirit and during His wilderness experience, He was tested.  Could it be the same for us?  Could the Spirit lead us into the wilderness and allow us to experience God’s silence?  Temptations?  Loneliness?

You can read the story of how Jesus managed His wilderness experience.  He fasted and survived on the Word of God.  Lots to be learned from that in how we handle our wildernesses.

But the coolest thing I see in this passage is that when Jesus’s time in the wilderness was over, He returned to Galilee, “filled with the Holy Spirit’s power.”  Wow.  The Spirit led him into the wilderness and returned Him from the wilderness….filled with His power.

For Jesus, His wilderness experience:

1. Did not cause Him to be bitter
2. Did not leave Him hopeless
3. Did not force Him to take the reigns of His life and situation
4. Did bring Him closer to God’s power

The Holy Spirit does not abandon us in the wilderness.  Sometimes He leads us there to move closer to the Father.  He uses the wilderness to show up in a more powerful way on the other side.

If you are in the middle of a wilderness, rest.  Plunge deeper into the Words of the Father and look forward to the day when you come out the other side in the power of the Holy Spirit.  He will not abandon you.  He will only strengthen you in His power.