Winning in the Wilderness

We all have wilderness experiences, and they serve a purpose. We learn to worship God in the wilderness, where we don’t bow down to the things of the world, the flesh or the devil. The wilderness is an opportunity for victory. Even Jesus had to go through the wilderness.

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Luke 4:1-4 (KJV)

When tempted, we must yield to God, and not to the flesh. We feed on God’s Word, which starves the desires of the flesh and satisfies our spirits.

And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Luke 4:5-8 (KJV)

We are to worship only God and bow down to Him alone. Our affections belong only to Him; only He has our devotion. We look to the Lord to give us what we need, not taking shortcuts to get what we want.

And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Luke 4:9-12 (KJV)

We don’t tempt God by doing foolish things. Instead, we learn to accurately divide the Word of truth and discern what is of God and what is of the devil.

From these verses in Luke 4, we see that in the wilderness, we learn to overcome the same temptations that Adam gave into.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. I John 2:16 (KJV)

The first thing we overcome is the lust of the flesh, or the physical desires. The second thing is the lust of the eyes, or the temptation of the soul (the mind, will and emotions). The third thing is the pride of life, or the temptation of the spirit man. In the wilderness, we have the opportunity to learn to yield our bodies to God, renew our minds to His Word, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead our spirits.

We learn many important lessons in the wilderness. There is value in the wilderness times we go through to teach us to be and do all God called us to.