Date: 30-May-2025
Name: Eddy Aigbologa
Topic:
NAVIGATING THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE
Content:
Wilderness in the Bible is associated with dryness, hopelessness, suffering, lack, neglect, abandonment, name it. No one wants to be in a state of wilderness. Like Job's friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar), most people, including Christians, believe that hard times and challenging situations come from humans misbehaving. It will interest you to know that half of the book of Job is about the friends of Job accusing him of his wilderness situation.
A state of wilderness is not a place anyone desires, yet the bible clearly shows us in Mathew 1:4 that Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The question we should be asking ourselves is, why should the Holy Spirit, who is meant to be a comforter, lead anyone, including Jesus Christ, into a wilderness situation? If that same Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness dwells within us, then it is possible we can find ourselves in situations that appear as wilderness yet orchestrated by the Spirit.
As wilderness is a situation we naturally don't like, let me quickly go into how to navigate wilderness experience using Jesus's example so that we can see beyond the pains and derive the strengthening and upliftment that comes from wilderness experience.
1. Prioritise the leading of the Holy Spirit
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. There is a common saying that not all that glitters is gold. In the same vein, not all that looks bad is actually bad. While Jesus was able to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit that the wilderness experience was for His upliftment, Eve in Genesis wasn't able to discern that the good-looking apple in the garden of Eden was for their destruction, but rather she listened to the voice of Satan. We can see that it is the voice behind what we see that matters more than what we actually see. There's always a voice behind what we see. Are we able to discern that voice to know the truth about what we see or are experiencing?
Recall the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16, where a slave girl correctly described Paul and Silas as servants of the Most High who proclaim the way of salvation. What she was doing appeared to be honest, but Paul was able the identify the voice behind her seemingly honest comments, and knew it was of the devil. Paul knew the devil intends no good for anyone and therefore shut down the slave girl by rebuking the spirit of divination working through her.
Not all wilderness experiences are led by the Spirit. Some are self-inflicted. This can also be discerned by the Spirit, and we ask God for His forgiveness and trust His mercy to see us through. Our ability to discern between the voice of the Holy Spirit and that of the devil is key for us to accept our wilderness experience and be willing to go through it. James 1:2-4 encourages us to count it all joy when we fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. We can see that God's ultimate aim for a Spirit-led wilderness experience is for our maturity.
At the end of Jesus's wilderness experience, not only did the devil leave Jesus, but God's angels also came to minister to Jesus. It was after Jesus' successful wilderness experience that He began His ministry. He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil; for God was with him (Acts 10:38).
Discernment of spirits is something we need to desire and pray for as leaders in society and heads of our families. While the Bible in 1 Corinthians 12:10 lets us know that discernment is one of the gifts that the Spirit distributes to us according to the will of the Spirit, we're encouraged to earnestly desire the best gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:30. PRAYER🙏 Let's ask God for the gift of discernment and the activation of the gift in our everyday life.
2. Be prepared.
The Bible encourages us in Ephesians 6:13 that wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. It is interesting to know that it was after Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights that the devil confronted him. So, it was not the devil's attacks that prompted Jesus to fast for 40 days and nights. This highlights the importance of being prepared before the evil days leading to our lifting arrive. Our waking up to pray and fellowship together in the mornings is never in vain. Our continuous worship and fellowship for over 3 years have been a preparation for our lifting. Let's not make the mistake of thinking that our spiritual preparation will preclude the devil from tempting us, but be assured that God is preparing us for a life of dominion. PRAYER🙏 Let's thank God for the opportunity to be prepared for a life of dominion.
3. Prioritise the Truth in God's Word.
The Word of God is anybody's own, but the Truth in God's Word only belongs to those who fear God. Psalms 25:14 The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.
The substance in God's Word is the Truth and not the letters in the Word of God. 2 Corinthians 3:5-6, says, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. We unlock the secrets in God's Word with the help of His Spirit.
During Jesus' wilderness experience, the scripture the devil quoted was not only correct but also contextually relevant on the occasion of the devil saying to Jesus that God's angels will ensure Jesus won't be injured if Jesus decides to jump from the pinnacle of the temple. But by the help of the Spirit, Jesus saw Truth rather than the letter in the scripture the devil quoted. The devil can use the scriptures to confuse us if we are not taking in the Word of God with the help of the Spirit. I John 2:27, says, but the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. PRAYER🙏 Help us see the Truth in your Word by the Spirit that dwells within us.
Prayer Points:
