In the Wilderness…

Katelyn's post is part of our Lenten Water Project. Throughout this Lenten season our writers will be focusing on the subject of water and what that means to them. Please donate to our well-building efforts, and if you have something YOU would like to say about water, let us know and we'll post it here!

After the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
Exodus 19:1

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
Luke 4:1

The wilderness is a not a place where most people would choose to be. It’s a scary place, full of uncertainty and devoid of life. In the wilderness, survival is a daily struggle, disorder and danger are everywhere, and desolation and drought threaten life.

For our biblical ancestors the Israelites, the wilderness is where they wandered for forty years, wrestled with God, and questioned whether God’s promises to them would be fulfilled. Jesus, still dripping with the waters of his baptism, was led into the wilderness where the devil was waiting for him.

The wilderness is nothing if not humbling. Perhaps it is appropriate then, that this is where the Lectionary has us begin our Lenten journey every year. We start in a place that reminds us of our dependency on our Creator God, the life-giving sacrifice Jesus made for us in his death, and the mysterious movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Yet we are assured that the wilderness is not the final destination. The Lord led the Israelites out of the wilderness, and the Holy Spirit did the same with Jesus. God leads us out of the barren wilderness to green pastures and still waters where life is abundant, and we are called to share this life with one another.

May this Lenten season be a time when we remember what it’s like to be in the wilderness, find hope in God’s faithfulness, and rejoice with one another for the incredible gift of grace we have received in Christ Jesus.

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Katelyn Gordon is a graduate of Columbia Seminary and is the Children's and Family intern at Trinity Presbyterian Church Atlanta, GA.