The wilderness, what do you think about when you hear that word...wilderness? Do you think of a beautiful beach or lovely roses?
Absolutely not! The wilderness is an unsettled, uncultivated, desolate, and barren wasteland. Is that a place you would choose to hangout? But wait, before you say no, just think about this, John the Baptist spent time in the wilderness, “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). And guess what, “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River” (verse 5). So, the wilderness is not always terrible, right? After all, John the Baptist's ministry flourished there. He even baptized Jesus, there, in the wilderness. Furthermore, Mark 1:9 tells us that “Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Then the Spirit “sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him” (verses 12-13). The devil tried and defeat Jesus at that moment, but Jesus conquered him, there, in the wilderness! What can we learn from these passages? God uses the wilderness for good even though the connotation of the wilderness is negative. The famous John the Baptist was drawn to the wilderness. The people, including Jesus, came to be baptize in that area, and Jesus defeated the temptations of Satan in the wilderness. After reading this section of the Bible, could it be that your ministry, even your blessings, may actually be right there in the wilderness? Previous articles |
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