“Immediately the Spirit drove him into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.”
Mark 1:12-13 CSB
I’m sitting at my dining room table, country music playing just a smidge too loudly behind me as my daughters have a dance party on what feels like the seventy-third snow day this month. I reach for my Bible, running my hand down the whisper-thin pages, and close my eyes.
Before I can even say hello to God, much less reflect on His holiness, one of my daughters is crying and the other is shouting about how it’s not her fault — she didn’t do anything! This time, I close my eyes, but in frustration, not reverence.
I settle this latest argument and suggest a litany of quiet activities my kids might enjoy for a while. Finally, peace. My hand hovers over my Bible, but – much as I’m embarrassed to admit it – I hesitate. My phone is sitting right there, just waiting for me, begging for my attention, promising to entertain me and numb all the irritations that have cropped up this day.
Even if I manage to ignore the pull of my phone, my mind and heart are still so prone to wander.
What time is my appointment this afternoon?
Did I return that message? I should do that real quick, right now.
Why is the cat crying? Guess I better give her fresh water.
That reminds me: I need to refill my water bottle.
Maybe I should try that devotional I bought a few months ago.
I’m just going to pay that bill online . . . and answer that one email . . . and check on that project . . .
When I began studying ways to prepare my heart for Easter, something many know as the season of Lent, I read everything I could find about the time Jesus spent in the wilderness. While accounts can be found in three of the gospels, the brief description in Mark is what resonated most deeply with me.
Thinking of Jesus, alone in the wilderness, being tempted by Satan, surrounded by wild animals was a breath of fresh air to my distracted, weary soul. I feel alone! I’m tempted all the time! And yes, at times it feels like I’m surrounded by wild animals!
When we struggle to quiet our lives and our hearts enough to focus on God, Jesus knows exactly how we feel. And what I know from passages in Matthew and Luke is that despite the desperate situation in which He found Himself, He resisted temptation. The angels served Him, He leaned on His knowledge of Scripture and faith in God, and He resisted.
So what does that mean for me, as I think about one more failed attempt at a simple quiet time? What does that mean for you, as you feel the hunger and isolation of wilderness or battle attacks from temptation of all kinds, as you long for communion with the Lord but feel unable to get there, to stay there, to remember why you were going there in the first place?
It means this: Our Lord and Savior isn’t just the One who can quench our thirst and ease our pain. He is worthy of our praise and adoration, but He also is intimately familiar with our challenges and our struggles. He knows the strength it requires to seek Him and abide with Him, and He knows that, without Him, we will perish in the wilderness.
It means that not only is Jesus our goal when we set aside time for Him, but He is our solution for fighting through all the distractions and temptations that work so hard to keep us away. It means that no matter how barren and empty our personal wilderness may feel, we are not actually alone in our search for God. Just as the angels were with Him, Jesus is with us.
Dear Lord, thank You for going first into the wilderness — for showing us how important it is to get alone and quiet, to seek God, and to listen. Thank You for going with us when we face temptation and distraction — for giving us the tools we need to resist. Jesus, You are worth every effort it takes to quiet my mind and my heart. You are worthy of every minute I devote to You above all else. Please meet me in this place. Bind my wandering heart to Yours. Keep my eyes set on You. Thank You, Lord, for never letting me go. Amen.
Excerpt from Journey to the Cross: Forty Days to Prepare Your Heart for Easter by Mary Carver.
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We are never alone in any thing we go through. Jesus is with us at all times to help us get through it. If we ask him to help us and do whatever he asks us to do. But we have to remember we have Devil who go round like a roaring lion seeking whoom he will devour. By that getting us especially that are saved to trip and fall off the way said. Not to follow the way Jesus would have go. But go the wrong way. So we have to keep our eyes focused on Jesus the Arthur and Finisher of our Faith at all times. Not get that we wonder of our faith on to the wrong path. If we feel we are going down a wrong path and getting distracted. We can pray and ask Jesus to help us stay on the right path that he wants us to and not getting on wrong path that the Devil Satan would want us too. Jesus as in today story in today’s reading was had Satan the Devil try to tempt him go the wrong way. But he kept his eyes on the right path. The path his Heavenly Father wanted him on. He told the Satan the Devil where to go. Every time Satan went to try to tempt him. Like in Matthew 4v4 when Satan asked to turn the stones into bread. But Jesus said “It is written Man shall not live by Bread alone but by every word that process from the mouth of God” How true that is. There was other answers Jesus gave Satan when he tried to tempt him. When you read more of Matthew 4. So that shows me Jesus was on his hard again Satan. We as Saved people have to do the same be on our gard to against Satan like Jesus was. Remember we are no actually alone. We can pray to Jesus to help us. When we know Satan is tempting us to do wrong eg sin. Love today’s reading. Thank you for it. In my prayers Love Dawn Ferguson-Little Enniskillen Co.Fermanagh N.Ireland xx
Mary – I remember those days with kids at home. How the snow days were a lovely interruption but an interruption no less to the flow of the week. Keep up the good fight! It does get easier in many ways as an empty nester yet I still fight the pull you described. Thank you for reminding me of Jesus’ time in the wilderness as I look to prepare my heart for his resurrection!
Have a great weekend!
Thank you Mary Carver! You are real, raw, genuine, exceptionally in tune with hearts of men and God. God blessed you, an outstanding, writer, and true wordsmith. At 74 yrs old, living to be 100, you captured my heart this morning sitting at my table missing the sweet sound of my eight grandkids. You are a blessed. Blessed to be a blessing.
2 Cor. 9:11—”You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way.”
Thank you love the prayer. Copied it
Thank you. I’m feeling better right now. There are moments when I feel overwhelmed by the decisions and choices of being a caregiver for two, my mom and my brother. They both live in separate facilities. They are both receiving good care. Why do I still worry? They are fine. God give me the increase in faith and decrease of worry and fear. Let me lean into you Lord.
Thank you for your words that bring understanding and reminds me that I am not alone. I do not need to worry or fear. Thank you for your prayer. I thank God for you. God is my strength.
Oh Mary, you are one of my favorite authors. I got “Journey to the Cross” last summer and I am going through the 40 day devotional this lent season. I am gaining many insights. I admire the way you wrote the prayers. They a so tender hearted. Thank you for your work. Bless you and your family.
Mary,
Jesus is well acquainted with our temptations/challenges. He was tempted, but He was able to refute those with scripture. We need to try our best to hide scripture in our hearts & minds. That way when the evil one comes we can quote it & rebuke him. I love Chris Tomlin’s song “Thank You Lord.” The second verse resonates with me!!
Thank You Lord for the hard times For lighting the way in the dark times For pulling me in, forgiving again
The times that I took it too far, I Gotta thank You for keeping me humble For picking me up when I stumble
And although I change, You stay the same And I don’t say thank You enough!!
Blessings 🙂