Scripture: Matthew 3:13-4:11
Journal: What voices are guiding and controlling your life these days? How will you allow God’s voice to be the one
that does that?
Reflection:
Why on earth would the Spirit lead Jesus into
the wilderness, and why does he lead each of us there still? I don’t know the full answer to either of
those questions, but I have a suspicion that part of it has to do with us
learning to hear and to trust and to be led by the voice of God, rather than
the voice of the enemy.
In our noisy, chaotic,
everyday lives it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the
voice of the one who would lead us astray and the voice of Love. But in the wilderness all of the trappings
and distractions are stripped away and we are finally able to see things—and hear
things—for what they really are. What
seemed so subtle in the frenzy and commotion, becomes stark in the stillness
and silence of the wilderness. Thus, we
are much more able to see and hear the difference between the one who came to
steal and kill and destroy, and the One who calls us his beloved.
So maybe the wilderness is
not such a bad place after all. Maybe it
is not a place to be avoided at all costs.
Maybe it is not a place of scarcity, but a place of abundance. Maybe it is actually a place where God leads
us in order to speak tenderly to us. Maybe
it is a place of transformation. And
maybe, just maybe, by recognizing the difference between the voice of the enemy
and the voice of our God in the wilderness, we will, one day, be able to
recognize it in our everyday lives. A
man can dream, right?
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to continually know the
difference between the voice of the one who seeks to steal and kill and
destroy, and the One who calls me his beloved.
May your voice be the one I pay attention to. May your voice be the one that guides and
controls my life. Let me hear your
voice, Lord Jesus, that I may live according to your word. Amen.
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