Closer to God

Our study continues into the New Testament concerning John the Baptist growing closer to God in the wilderness.

… the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. Luke 3:2 NASB1995

Verse two shows an important aspect of John the Baptist’s ministry: the word of the Lord will find you regardless of where you are. We know John grew up in the desert before he made his public appearance. Not a lot is known of his desert life. But what is known, is John “continued to grow and become strong in spirit” (Luke 1:80).

Now, granted, John was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, and he was the embodiment of the prophecy from Isaiah as mentioned in Mark 1:2-3. He needed to have heard from God before he spoke his words of forgiveness and repentance.

John’s separation from the rest of the world is one of the most important keys to hearing from God. He became closer to God by separating himself for an more intimate encounter. Our takeaway from his wilderness experience is to learn from his lifestyle. During the middle ages, there were men and some women who would separate themselves from the world to live what they believed was a more godly life. Like John, they lived away from the cares and concerns of a familial lifestyle to focus on their inner spirit instead of an outward countenance.

Should we physically separate from the world to concentrate on our relationship with God? Not necessarily. There are times when it is beneficial to go on a retreat to grow closer with God or as a married couple to grow closer together. But most of the time, we can take a few minutes of our day to close ourselves off from distractions to spend time reading the Bible or just praying. 

Our time with God

Our wilderness encounter may not be like John’s but it doesn’t invalidate the time we have spent with God. What we hear from God may never be uttered outside of our relationship with Him. But if what we heard from God doesn’t point back to Him, then we need to spend more time with Him. It took nearly 30 years for John to refine the message of God. Our encounter with Jehovah God may not be an overnight occurrence. Be patient, God is always and continually working in our lives.

The words of John the Baptist recorded in John 3:30 must be our anthem: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John realized his role in proclaiming the message of repentance and forgiveness was dependent upon the Savior. He spoke of the coming Messiah; it was the Messiah’s function to do the forgiving. John spoke of the Messiah this way: 

“He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:31‭-‬36 NASB1995

Not all wilderness experiences will impose gloom on our lives. There will be times when the wilderness brings us closer to God. Long for those times spent with God for they will be the most precious.