Open Spaces: Canyon

If God leads me into a dry place, does that mean I did something wrong?

Jesus is driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, not chased there by failure. The emptiness comes first and the Spirit is the one who brings him in.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.

Matthew 4:1–2

You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth.

Deuteronomy 8:2–3

God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.

Psalms 63:1

What do I do when the thing I want most isn't there?

The wilderness is where hunger speaks loudest, and Jesus meets it in the hunger itself. He does not pretend he is full.

The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’”

Matthew 4:3–4

He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth.

Deuteronomy 8:3

The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.

Psalms 34:10

Does being in a hard season mean God has left me?

Jesus is never alone in the canyon. The angels come after the test, and the Spirit who led him in does not drop him at the entrance.

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.

Matthew 4:11

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalms 23:4

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.

Isaiah 43:2

For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let’s therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:15–16

How do I get out of the canyon?

The wilderness is a place Jesus goes through, not a place he stays. But it is the Spirit who walks him out, and the exit is on God's timetable.

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.

Matthew 4:11

For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs, and underground water flowing into valleys and hills; a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey; a land in which you shall eat bread without scarcity, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.

Deuteronomy 8:7–9

The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain. Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”

Isaiah 40:3–5