Lesson Three - Natural Need Predisposes Us to Trials
…into the wilderness …
The wilderness or desert is a place that naturally prohibits human habitation because of the scarcity of water. It is seldom a place for relaxation because of the extremities of weather: afternoons can be unbearably hot, the nights unbearably cold and the winds do get quite strong due to the absence of trees. It is into such a place of natural human want that the Spirit thrust Jesus for forty days, cut off far from the pleasures of life, even away from the basic comfortability level. Would Jesus naturally impose such discomfort upon Himself? He would, if that is how He would take himself away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, in order to commune with God. Does the Spirit lead us into wilderness situations? Here we know He does.
Normally, we believe that when we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit of God, we arrive at “green pastures”. Seldom do we think that in following the leading of the Spirit, we might or rather shall pass through the valley of tears, of the shadow death, wilderness, naturally uncomfortable situations. Such circumstances might become difficult to explain unless we focus on this beginning of Jesus and get that lesson out of it. As an example, Paul was told in advance that His ministry to God would involve suffering (Ac 9:16), and the first letter of Peter makes it very clear that the disciples were quiet familiar with suffering as is permitted by the Spirit.
In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus prepares his disciples for such wilderness situations, knowing that they being children of the Kingdom, they would naturally expect all the good things life all the time. He cautions that for the sake of the kingdom, they shall necessarily lack some things, but God will be faithful to provide what they will need to accomplish His will. If they failed to prepare themselves for such times, the consequences will be a loss of faith and a selfish loss of focus. The Spirit leads us into wilderness situations.
The wilderness or desert is a place that naturally prohibits human habitation because of the scarcity of water. It is seldom a place for relaxation because of the extremities of weather: afternoons can be unbearably hot, the nights unbearably cold and the winds do get quite strong due to the absence of trees. It is into such a place of natural human want that the Spirit thrust Jesus for forty days, cut off far from the pleasures of life, even away from the basic comfortability level. Would Jesus naturally impose such discomfort upon Himself? He would, if that is how He would take himself away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, in order to commune with God. Does the Spirit lead us into wilderness situations? Here we know He does.
Normally, we believe that when we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit of God, we arrive at “green pastures”. Seldom do we think that in following the leading of the Spirit, we might or rather shall pass through the valley of tears, of the shadow death, wilderness, naturally uncomfortable situations. Such circumstances might become difficult to explain unless we focus on this beginning of Jesus and get that lesson out of it. As an example, Paul was told in advance that His ministry to God would involve suffering (Ac 9:16), and the first letter of Peter makes it very clear that the disciples were quiet familiar with suffering as is permitted by the Spirit.
In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus prepares his disciples for such wilderness situations, knowing that they being children of the Kingdom, they would naturally expect all the good things life all the time. He cautions that for the sake of the kingdom, they shall necessarily lack some things, but God will be faithful to provide what they will need to accomplish His will. If they failed to prepare themselves for such times, the consequences will be a loss of faith and a selfish loss of focus. The Spirit leads us into wilderness situations.
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