Walking in the Wilderness

“From the moment of his baptism, Jesus overflowed with the Holy Spirit. He was taken by the Spirit from the Jordan into the wilderness of Judea to experience for forty days the ordeal of testing by the accuser.” Luke 4:1-2

Jesus gives us a beautiful account of how we walk through the wilderness when we face temptation and trials. This temptation Jesus faced was not concerning sinful behavior, obviously, He was sinless. The temptation He faced was pointed to His identity. If the enemy could have convinced Jesus to act on His temptation, He would discredit His identity. The same is true for us. The temptation we face is always an attack on who we are. When we come into agreement with lies about who we are then sinful behaviors follow.

This picture of Jesus being baptized in water, filled with the Holy Spirt and affirmed by the Father as His Beloved Son prepared Him for the wilderness. I encourage to continue to read Luke 4 so you can meditate on Jesus’ response. Throughout His temptations He never argued with the enemy. Why? He was affirmed as Beloved Son!

We will face trials, test and temptations- when they come how we respond dictates what Abba is wanting to do in our hearts and lives. We are all in the process of understanding who we are in Him. We are going deeper and deeper into this amazing truth. Abba’s love for us is beyond measure and when we experience this love is causes us to examine our lives to say - Here I am Lord, I surrender to your will, your tender mercies, and caring grace.

Practical Application: What trials or tests are you facing right now? How are responding to them? We all have moments we come into agreement with who we are not. These are the times we bring it to Abba and make the exchange. Lord, here are the doubts, lies, misconceptions, wrong thinking and etc. Holy Spirit I want to walk in your truth. I AM MY BELOVEDS AND HE IS MINE!