Here is a devotion to start your day!
A spoken version of this devotion is available through the Still, Here audio reflections podcast.
Scripture: Matthew 4:1–4
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.
Reflection
The same Spirit who descends like a dove now leads like a wind. One moment, the waters of baptism; the next, the heat and emptiness of the wilderness. It is jarring to realize: Jesus is not lost. He is being led.
We often assume dryness means failure, that if we feel far from God, we must have taken a wrong turn. Sometimes that is true. But sometimes, like Jesus, we are led into places where we are uncomfortable so that our trust in God can deepen.
In the wilderness, Jesus becomes hungry—physically, but also symbolically. He feels the ache we feel: the pull toward quick fixes, easy bread, immediate relief. The tempter suggests a shortcut: Use your power to satisfy yourself now. Yet Jesus answers out of a deeper hunger: to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Love does not always lead us around hard places. Often, love leads us through them. Not to punish us, but to purify what we rely on. Wilderness seasons expose the stories we live by: “I am okay as long as… I’m safe as long as…” In the silence, those stories fade, and we are invited to feed on a different Word.
Today, rather than resenting your dry places, dare to ask: Do I see how Spirit has walked with me?
A Prayer of Presence
Spirit of God,
When my life feels barren and my soul feels dry, remind me I am not abandoned. Lead me to trust Your presence in the emptiness and to feed on Your living word, not on lesser bread. – Amen
Practice for Today
Name one “quick fix” you habitually turn to for comfort or escape. Gently fast from it for a set time today. Each time you feel the pull, whisper: “You, Lord, are my true bread.”
Journaling Prompt
What wilderness season in my life might have been a place of Spirit-led growth rather than just a detour or failure?
Carry This Prayer With You Today
Breathe in: Lead me in the wilderness...
Breathe out: … help me learn to trust
This work is freely shared. If it nourishes your life with God, you’re welcome to help sustain it.