Message: "Lost in the Wilderness of Life" - Lent 1 - 03/09/2025

 

“Lost in the Wilderness of Life”

Luke4:1-13; Acts 6:1-7

In the series “From Brokenness to Wholeness: A Journey of Healing and Hope”

Have you ever been truly lost? Not just taking a wrong turn while driving or losing your way in a department store, but feeling completely disoriented in your own life? Maybe it was after receiving a devastating diagnosis, or when your marriage began falling apart. Perhaps it happened when you retired and suddenly questioned your purpose, or when your children left home, and you wondered, "What now?"

On a sunny day in the summer of 2019, Becky, Josh, Hannah, and I
walked into the forest of western North Carolina, part of a park. We like to take the kids for walks in nature to help them experience creation and shape a love of nature in them. It was peaceful as we walked, hearing the breeze gently rustling the green leaves and the sounds of our feet walking on the path. Along the way, we opted to take various twists and turns in the trail, not seeking a particular destination, just desiring to be in the forest’s beauty.

After walking for a while, Josh asked a question. “Do you know where we are now?”

Becky and I replied, “Not precisely. We’re just enjoying God’s creation and seeing things we’ve never seen before.”

Josh followed up with, “Well, how are we going to find our way back then? I’m getting hungry.”

We gave him a granola bar and said, “Let’s just turn around and retrace our path.” As we walked back, we came to places where the path had branched. At the first couple of branches, we were confident we knew we had come from “this way or that.” But then, we weren’t sure. That didn’t help Josh’s anxiety. Finally, he stopped and said, “This doesn’t look right. I think we’re lost.” His anxiety spiraled.

The truth was, Becky and I didn’t know where we were either, but we weren’t about to tell him that. We all felt disoriented, not knowing which way led us out of the forest – a feeling that stays with you.

Life's wilderness moments feel much the same way. We find ourselves in unfamiliar emotional territory without clear markers to guide us home. The path ahead seems obscured, and we feel isolated in our struggle.

Wilderness experiences come in many forms, don't they? For our seniors, it might be the isolation that comes after losing a spouse of fifty years, or the terror of realizing your memory is slowly failing and there’s little you can do about it, or the frustration of a body that no longer cooperates with your still-young spirit. For parents juggling careers and children, it might be the exhaustion of never feeling like you're enough—not present enough for your kids, not productive enough at work, not attentive enough to your marriage. For others, it could be the painful space between “who I thought I would be” and “who am I now?” Challenging questions or experiences can shake the foundations of our faith, leaving us in spiritual wilderness of uncertainty.

In today's culture, we're expected to have it all together. Social media shows us perfectly curated lives while we're struggling in the messy middle of reality. We smile at church and say, "I'm fine" when inside we're crying out, "I'm lost, and I don't know how to find my way back."

The wilderness strips away our pretenses. It reveals what we truly depend on. When comfort is gone, when certainty vanishes, when the path disappears—what remains? Who are we then?

Jesus had his own wilderness moment, as we heard from our reading from Luke 4. Fresh from his baptism, where the heavens opened and God proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son," the Spirit leads Jesus not into immediate ministry but into barren desert.

For forty days, Jesus fasts. He experiences physical weakness, isolation, and the devil's temptations. Satan targets Jesus at his points of vulnerability—his hunger, his mission, his identity.

"If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."

"If you worship me, all this authority and glory will be yours."

"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here."

Notice how the enemy begins with "if." If you are who you say you are... if you are who God says you are. The wilderness always brings identity questions. Who are you when everything familiar is stripped away?

Each question also challenges Jesus into ways that distort his true identity as God’s son, who is also the Messiah, the One who will save the world.

Turning stones into bread is about misusing his divine power for personal gain.

Gaining worldly authority is about achieving kingship without suffering.

Jumping from the Temple is a way to test God’s protection and to do it in a way that will amaze people.

Jesus responds not with displays of power but with dependence on God's word. Each time, he counters temptation with scripture. His strength in weakness comes from remaining rooted in truth.

This wilderness wasn't a detour from Jesus' mission—it was preparation for it. The same Spirit that led him into the desert would lead him out of it and empower him for ministry.

When we’re in the wilderness, temptations target our deepest needs and desires, often twisting good things for destructive purposes. We will always be tempted to live for ourselves, to take control of our corner of the world, and to focus on success rather than faithfulness.

In Acts 6, we see a different kind of wilderness — this time it is a community in crisis. The early church faced growing pains. As God added daily to their numbers, the community grew faster and faster. Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. Cultural tensions threatened unity. Leaders were overwhelmed.

This organizational wilderness could have derailed the gospel movement. Instead, the apostles created space for Spirit-filled wisdom. They didn't try to do everything themselves. They acknowledged the problem, prioritized their core mission of prayer and teaching God's word, and empowered others to serve.

Their wilderness became a catalyst for growth and inclusion. The church adapted, new leaders emerged, and "the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly" (Acts 6:7).

What does this mean for us today? Let me speak directly to where you might be.

For our seniors, perhaps you're facing health challenges or grieving losses. The landscape of your life looks different than it once did. Remember that God doesn't waste wilderness seasons. Like Jesus, you carry wisdom forged through testing. Your testimony of God's faithfulness through decades matters profoundly to younger generations who need to see living examples of enduring faith.

For our parents of school-age children, you may feel overwhelmed by the competing demands of family, work, and self-care. The wilderness of exhaustion makes everything harder to navigate. Jesus shows us that acknowledging our limitations isn't weakness—it's wisdom. Even he needed time apart, prayer, and the word of God to sustain him.

For those who've walked away from faith or church, your wilderness might be spiritual doubt or disillusionment. The God who met Moses in a burning bush, Elijah in a whisper, and Jesus in the desert still specializes in wilderness encounters. Your questions and struggles don't disqualify you from God's presence—they might be the very reason you're about to experience God in a new way.

The wilderness reveals what we truly worship. When Jesus was tempted to worship Satan for worldly gain, he responded, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve." What do we turn to when we're lost and hurting? Social media validation? Work accomplishments? Substance use? Shopping therapy? Or do we turn to the One who meets us in our wilderness?

The season of the church year from now through Easter is called Lent, and it has traditionally been a time to let go of something that keeps you in the wilderness far from God and to take on a spiritual practice that helps draw you closer to God. Unfortunately, we’ve often minimized it down to “giving up” TV, social media, swearing, or something else, that while well-intentioned, doesn’t really address our deep situation and need; and we often fail to take on something to help us.

So, as we go through our own wilderness experiences, let me suggest several practical steps for us to choose from:

·      Name your wilderness: Be honest about where you feel lost or what you’re struggling with. Bring it into the light. It’s the first step toward wholeness.

·      Turn to Scripture daily: Like Jesus, anchor yourself in God’s truth when everything else seems uncertain. We are offering daily devotions on our Facebook page each day during this season.

·      Seek wise companionship: Don’t isolate yourself in the wilderness. Turn to trustworthy friends who will walk with you and speak truth in love.

·      Let go of false solutions: Identify what you’re turning to instead of God (work, control, substances, distraction) and practice releasing it.

·      Share your story: Your wilderness journey, even unfinished, may be exactly what someone else needs to hear. Lift up what God is doing in your wilderness, more than the details of your wilderness.

·      Serve others despite your pain: Allowing God to use you in your brokenness can bring unexpected healing.

·      Look for God’s provision: Like manna in the desert, God provides daily grace. Notice and give thanks for those mercies.

As a church family, we're not meant to navigate the wilderness alone. We're called to be like Aaron and Hur, who held up Moses' arms when he grew weary. We're called to be like the early church, noticing who's being overlooked and finding Spirit-led solutions.

If you know someone in a wilderness season, reach out to them. A call, a meal, a handwritten note can be like cold water in a desert.

            If you are in a wilderness right now, take one brave step toward connection with God and others this week. Speak to me or a trusted friend after the service.

Michael Beck is a sought-after pastor, author, coach, and leader in the Fresh Expressions movement that takes the good news of Jesus beyond the wall of the church building  into the world wherever people gather. Beck came through a tough wilderness time, but his wilderness was not a metaphorical one—it was a literal prison cell. Addicted, alone, and surrounded by the gray walls of confinement, he had lost everything. He describes this time as "a season where every day felt like ash, empty and without color." Yet, in this place of desolation, something remarkable happened. A fellow inmate slid a Bible under his door—a simple act, but it was a lifeline. Beck opened the pages, not knowing that these ancient words would begin to paint hope over the ashes of his life. Slowly, God's Word started to reshape his identity. His cell, which had been a place of isolation, became a sanctuary of transformation. Like Jesus, who walked out of the wilderness empowered, Beck left prison not just as a free man, but as a man called to help others find hope.

Your wilderness, whatever form it takes, is not a roadblock to encountering God—it might be the very place God has been waiting to meet you.

As we enter this Lenten season, I invite you to seek Christ in your wilderness today. Not when you have it all together. Not when the path becomes clear again. But right now, in your uncertainty, your struggle, your pain.

Jesus extends his hand to you and says, "I've been where you are. I know the way through. Walk with me."

Will you take that step today?

Let us pray...