the test of the wilderness
To pass the test of the wilderness, we must look to Jesus’ example of how He conquered His wilderness. The Israelites failed their test, but John the Baptist and Jesus passed their tests. What we do and how we live in our wilderness will ultimately decide if we pass the tests we encounter.
Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan, and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him. Mark 1:12-13 NASB1995
A prompting in the wilderness
We read from the previous verses in Mark the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus after His baptism. The prompting of the Holy Spirit drove Jesus to the wilderness. This wilderness was not the same place where John had been preaching and baptizing. It was more isolated and remote than where John had begun his ministry. We see danger from the wild beasts roaming about Jesus in verse thirteen. So this is more of what we think of when the word wilderness comes to mind.
A purpose for the wilderness
Even though the devil confronts Jesus face-to-face in a physical wilderness, our experience will be more of a mental and spiritual battle. The word tempt in the original Greek means to test. Jesus passed the test proving He was the Son of God just as the Father had spoken. We, too, can pass the test of our faith by trusting in Jesus who already triumphed over the devil.
When we dive into the Gospels’ account of the devil’s testing of Jesus, there is a solid foundation to use in our testing, the word of God. By using the word of God, we discover a powerful weapon to use in our battles just as Jesus did. The test of the wilderness can be challenging, however, rightly applying the word of God gives us an advantage. Look at how the the writer of Hebrews describes the word of God:
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 NASB1995
Jesus used the word of God to defeat the devil on three different occasions:
- The devil tried to force Jesus that His need for food was more important than God’s will. He will also do the same thing against us saying our happiness or comfort is more important than God’s plan. Satan’s attack is sometimes a subtle attempt and sometimes not so subtle at distracting us from the best God has planned for us. Jesus countered Satan by quoting Scripture telling him God provides all that He needs.
- The devil continues to challenge Jesus in the wilderness by using scripture to test Jesus. As we battle against Satan, we need to have a good understanding of the Word of God. Even the devil used the word of God to test Jesus, but Jesus knew the word well enough to not fall into the devil’s schemes. Satan misled Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; there’s no reason why Satan won’t try to do the same with us. Jesus saw through the devil’s antics trying to subvert God’s Word but set him straight by applying God’s Word properly.
- The devil’s ultimate plan is to keep us ineffective as believers. Satan will wield his power over us to keep our lives neutralized by taking our focus from God and His plan.This battle may be the toughest we will fight. The devil makes promises that look amazing, but we need to keep our eyes on Jesus. It is by worshipping God and Him alone. Our response should be just like Jesus’, “Leave me alone Satan. I belong to God and His plan is best.” We can pass the test of the wilderness if we use God’s word properly in the battles of our lives.
A provision in the wilderness
After battling the devil, angels attended to Jesus. The picture of this moment tells the story of how Jesus, fully God and man, needed to be strengthened. Just as God took care of the Israelites in the wilderness, He takes care of Jesus in the wilderness too. Surely, God will take care of us in as well. There may be angels surrounding us now as we stumble along in our wilderness journey and we are unaware. God will place people in our lives who will help throughout the day-to-day battles to support, bless, and love us. The test of the wilderness will probably change during our lifetime. Recall how the Israelites camped in different wilderness areas, our lives will be the same. There will be days when life will feel overwhelming, but take heart, God will deliver the armies of heaven if need be, to care for His children.
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39 NASB1995