March 21 Lenten Devotional "Walking in the Wilderness"

OPENING PRAYER. . .Loving God, Creator of all that is, here I am--today in this place that you have given me, with all the senses you have given me. Help me to use them to experience you on a deeper level. May I experience you all around me, open me to know more of your ways and know that your goodness surrounds me. Thank you for this time to be with you and to just listen. Amen

LISTEN. . . "At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”   Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’"
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: "‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do 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 splendor.  “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." (Matthew 4:1-11)

CONSIDER. . . .There are many life happenings that can throw us into a kind of wilderness experience, which can breed disorientation, loneliness and vulnerability. A wilderness journey is a time of testing, but also an opportunity to choose life in the midst of impending despair; an opportunity to choose God's way instead. It is a time that takes advantage of our human weakness and opens us to temptation. But it also can be a time for growth.

SO WHAT. . . Jesus didn't choose the wilderness, but instead was LED there by the Holy Spirit. The early readers of Matthew heard about those 40 days they equated it with the their own Exodus event. And that didn't turn out so well for them--they failed the test and turned their backs on God. HOWEVER, God remained faithful to them.  Wilderness times test our faith and challenge us to be transformed.

Can you remember an experience of wilderness wandering in your life?  Maybe you are experiencing it today, this Lenten season. If you experienced it in the past, can you look back now and see it as a time of growth for you?  If you are in the midst of it now, can you look for ways that God is working through the experience to give you an opportunity to do His will, to choose God?  Again today, tough questions that challenge each of us to self-examine during this Lenten Season.

PRAYER. . . Dear God, when I experience wilderness times, and I know I will, let me never forget God's mercy.  As I face these times of testing, please give me the grace to choose you. Guide me through this Lenten season with a renewed desire to entrust my life into your hands. Amen