The Wilderness Begins

43 Days Until Easter

Matthew 4:1–2

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”

One of the most important things to understand about the wilderness is that Jesus did not wander into it by accident. He was led there. “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness…” That changes how we see everything. The wilderness is not always a sign that something has gone wrong. Sometimes it is exactly where God is doing His deepest work. Sometimes it is the place where distractions are stripped away, where dependence is formed, and where identity is clarified.

Right after His baptism, right after the Father declares, “This is my beloved Son,” Jesus is led into a place of testing. Not away from God, but into a place where His trust in the Father would be strengthened and revealed. That is often how God works in our lives as well. There have been seasons in my own life, especially in between jobs or in transitions between ministry seasons, where things felt dry and uncertain. In those moments, it is easy to assume that something is off, that maybe you missed something or that God has stepped back.

But looking back, those were not wasted seasons.

They were forming seasons.

They were wilderness moments where God was doing something deeper than I could see at the time.

Jesus fasts for forty days. He is physically hungry, but spiritually anchored. He is not scrambling or panicking. He is grounded in the Word and secure in His identity. Lent is meant to mirror that kind of formation. This is a season where we intentionally step into a kind of wilderness, where we remove distractions, create space, and allow ourselves to feel the absence of what we have given up so that we become more aware of our need for God.

And that can feel uncomfortable. When the noise quiets down, we begin to notice things. Our dependence on comfort, our habits of distraction, and the ways we try to satisfy ourselves instead of trusting God. But that is where transformation begins. The wilderness is where we learn that God is enough.

Today, if this season feels slower than you expected or quieter than you are used to, do not rush past it. Lean in. God may be doing more in the wilderness than you realize.

Prayer
Lord, help me trust You in the wilderness. When things feel dry or uncertain, remind me that You are still at work. Use this season to strip away distraction and deepen my dependence on You. Form me in the quiet places, and anchor me in Your truth. In Jesus’ name, amen.