Hello Friends! Hope you all are having an excellent Tuesday so far. I woke up this morning with a swollen eyelid, so it’s been an interesting morning, but the swelling is starting to go down—I think at least! Still kind of looks like I got punched in the eye, but oh well I guess.
I was reading in Luke this morning, and this verse really stuck out to me…
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”
Luke 4:1-2a
What really stuck out to me today was the “led by the Spirit into the desert” part of the verse. For some reason, when I think of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding me I only ever picture myself being led into beautiful, nice and welcoming places. The word ‘desert’ doesn’t generally come to mind. But, that is exactly where the Holy Spirit led Jesus. And he didn’t lead him there to go on a vacation. No. Luke tells us that he led Jesus into the desert to be TEMPTED. He led him there to be tested and tried—not to be comfortable.
In the same way, sometimes the Holy Spirit may lead us into our own ‘desert’ situations, where our purpose in being led there is to be tested and tried. Living the Christian life does not come without its trials, and definitely not without temptations from the devil. Although difficult, we don’t need to be afraid of facing tests and trials.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:2-4
According to James, the testing of our faith develops perseverance, which in turn leads to spiritual maturity. If we never had to face any trials or challenges, then we would never have the opportunity to grow in our faith. God has a plan and a purpose for every trial or test that we face in this life. It may seem difficult at the time, but once its over, you’ll be able to look back on that time in your life and see how much you’ve grown because of it. When times are tough, remember these scriptures, and know that God has a plan and a purpose—far bigger than we could ever imagine!
Hope you all are having a great week so far! God bless:)