Tempted in the Desert

As hot season and our departure draw closer, everything seems to mush into one big emotional heat cloud.

I was drawn to Mark 1:13 last night. "And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him." It is now 60 days until we leave Africa. We are in the desert. We are being tempted. Sometimes we feel like we ourselves are the wild beasts ;). But Jesus went through it, and he didn't even have friends or family around Him. I'm sure He wanted to run back, to be comfortable, to escape the hardships. But...even then, He was being ministered to. What is loneliness when you have thousands of angels talking, encouraging and blessing you.

I believe that these next 60 days will be hard. We will be tempted to give in. Heat has a tendency to make everything seem heavier and harder than it really is. Why do you think Jesus went out to the desert? Perhaps to grow closer to God. Perhaps to give himself time to think. Perhaps to say to me personally, "I've done it, and I will send my angels to minister and protect you. Your foot will not slip and your spirit will not fail. Even though you ache for water, I will clench your thirst. Even though the time seems longer than it is, I will minister to you. My child, when you are tempted in the desert, listen to ME."