Column: Hold on to Jesus

Kortney Mayne The Bridge

A few years ago, my husband took a trip to Israel. He brought home so many wonderful pictures of his time there.

He rode camels and floated in the Dead Sea, but one picture stood out to me. It was the desert where Jesus was tempted. For some reason, it didn’t look anything like I expected. It was so incredibly vast. The people walking on the road looked like nothing more than little specks.

I imagine Jesus in this same wilderness, fresh off the high moment of being baptized and affirmed by his father. He was sent to the wilderness straightaway. Why?

The Israelites experienced something similar. They had just witnessed the wonder of the Red Sea being split in half. Right after that miraculous moment, they found themselves in a wilderness. Surely this was not what they had planned.

The Israelites’ wilderness caused them to doubt and grumble. They felt that surely God had forgotten them if he let them experience time in a desolate place.

Their wilderness made them want to turn back and give up. They allowed their struggle to pull them away from God. Their wilderness became bigger than their God.

Jesus used his wilderness to fast, pray and draw near to God. He fought spiritual battles in his wilderness — and he won. In fact, Jesus showed us that the wilderness doesn’t have to be a place of defeat. It is not a place where we are forsaken. It can be a place of great growth, if we will let it. For Jesus, God was bigger than any wilderness.

If you find yourself in a wilderness, you may feel small, insignificant or alone. I challenge you: In that moment, look to Jesus. You may not be there by accident. Perhaps he has a plan to use that time in your life to develop something great in you. Draw near to God in times of difficulty instead of pushing him away. You aren’t there because God forgot you. You aren’t there because of some mistake. The wilderness can make you want to turn back, but don’t let it fool you: God often shows himself in the most unexpected places.

This does not have to be your place of defeat. It could very well be where you win your biggest victory, if you’ll just hold on to Jesus.