The Wilderness and the Will of God
There are few occurrences in the life of a believer more
perplexing than a wilderness experience, an unexpected hardship or
trial, that comes as they walk in the perfect will of God. Wilderness
episodes usually involve some degree of deprivation, whether finances,
health, friends or comforts of life. But for the child of God, there is
one valuable possession that no wilderness can deprive him of, and that
is the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). That doesn't mean that believers
don't experience 'perceptions' of love deprivation from time to time.
But the believer must learn to allow the truth of God, divine
reality, to bring into subjection any and all of his or her
perceptions. Wilderness experiences have no set
time frame. They can last a few days, a week or so, months, years and
perhaps a lifetime if the loss of a loved one is involved. Joseph, for
example, spent a over a decade in prison and was deprived of his
freedom for maintaining sexual purity. John was banished to the isle of
Patmos for his faithfulness to Christ. The prophet Jeremiah spent hard
time in a miry dungeon for his faithfulness in preaching the truth to
Israel. Then there was the wilderness experience Jesus endured on the
Cross, feeling 'forsaken' by his God and Father, while he became sin
for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Those six agonizing hours of pain for the
Lord Jesus translated to an eternity of bliss in the very presence of
God for all who would come to the Father by him. For Joseph, John,
Jeremiah and Jesus, all endured wilderness experiences as they walked
in the perfect will of God. Our Lord's earthly
ministry came to an end in a wilderness of suffering. But it began in a
wilderness of testing. As soon as Jesus exited the baptismal waters and
received a word of divine approval from his Father, Mark says: “And
immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was
there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the
wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him” (Mark 1:12-13). The
verb “driveth” is instructive. Mark could have used a simple aorist (or
past) to describe the action of the Spirit (i.e., “drove” him). He
might have used the imperfect to add a linear or continuous action
(i.e., “kept on driving” him). But Mark used the present, as if he is
watching the Spirit in real time driving the Lord Jesus into the wilderness (i.e., “is
driving” him). The verb “driveth” is the Greek ekballo (ek = “out”, ballo
= “to throw, cast”). The Spirit literally took Jesus and threw him out
into the wilderness, almost violently. For over four thousand years of
human history, Satan had had his way with mankind. The first man, Adam,
went down in defeat to the wiles of Satan while enjoying pristine
Garden conditions. The second Adam, the Lord Jesus, was on a mission to
destroy the devil. He would meet Satan in the worst of conditions, and
exit the wilderness victorious. In my mind, the Spirit was excited to
set up this encounter and nail man's archenemy to the proverbial wall. The
wilderness (desolate place) Jesus endured consisted of three elements:
temptation, wild beasts and angelic help. When God's people endure a
wilderness experience, they should expect to experience the same three
elements. The verb “tempted” is a present passive participle (lit., “the one being continually tempted”) from the Greek peirazo,
“to try or test, to assay” (good or bad sense). From the perspective of
Satan, he may have indeed solicited Jesus to succumb to his wiles. But
from God's perspective, he was there to reveal, bring to the fore, the
spotless, divine character of Christ. Jesus told his disciples: “For
the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me” (John 14:30).
Jesus said this anticipating the second wilderness, the Cross, in
his immediate future. In this first wilderness experience, Satan may
have solicited Jesus to commit sin, but there was no basis in Jesus
from which sin could come. For you and me, a wilderness may come with
temptation. Satan DOES have something in us to which he can appeal. But
there is no solicitation involved on God's part; only Satan's. From
God's perspective, a wilderness is a time of refinement, to assay our
faith, to show it off, to build it. Can you say Job? The
phrase “wild beasts” sounds a note of hostility. Although Jesus was
WITH them, he was in no way intimidated BY them. Those wild beasts were
no more a threat to Jesus than the lions were to Daniel or the fiery
furnace was to the three Hebrew children – Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego. Likewise the wild beasts (metaphorically speaking) have no
power to harm the child of God UNLESS a sovereign God, for his own
purposes, allows harm to come. The biggest danger to a child of God who
undergoes pain and suffering while in the perfect will of God is NOT
what might be lost in the process, but the resultant spirit that
harbors resentment, bitterness, and blames God for the loss, questions
whether God really loves them. Job is the classic example of a believer
who loses it all and STILL blesses the name of the Lord, refusing to
curse his God. The verb “ministered” is from diakoneo, dia = “through”, koneo
= “to serve.” Our word “deacon” is a derivative of this root. The
prefix denotes thoroughness of service. In other words, the angels gave
to Jesus everything he needed, everything they could give him, to help
him endure his wilderness ordeal. The verb is imperfect, meaning they
kept on providing succor and assistance The angels knew Jesus in his
pre-incarnation splendor. I'd say they were especially motivated to
help. But we shouldn't think they would be any less motivated to assist
us. Concerning the work of angels, the writer of Hebrews asked this
question: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister
for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). The heirs of
salvation are joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). As joint-heirs,
the angels for Jesus' sake have every bit as much interest in our
success as they did in that of the Lord Jesus! If that doesn't
encourage you, then what will? The wilderness and the
will of God often find themselves as fellow travelers in the Christian
life. We as believers should not be unduly alarmed to find ourselves
from time to time simultaneously in both. But be forearmed. Just
know that (1) God is up to something that transcends satanic wiles, (2)
nothing you confront in your wilderness can harm you without God's
express permission, and (3) heavenly help is abundantly available to
you as an heir of salvation and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ!
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