Entering the Wilderness by Abby Kelly

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35

It’s a well-known fact that the big, bad wolf lives in the forest. And most of us find it kind of scary to be lost in the woods alone. Sometimes in our lives we feel like we’ve been abandoned in the wilderness. We feel alone. Problems and temptations seem to overwhelm us and we begin to feel hopeless. I used to wonder if Jesus felt that way when He was alone in the wilderness fasting for 40 days (Mark 1). During that time, Satan tempted Him. He was hungry, thirsty and very, very alone. The Bible even says He was with the wild animals. It must have been a scary time.

But only a few verses later, after a full day of healing and ministering to people, the Bible says, “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” The word for “desolate” is the same word used earlier for “wilderness”. When Jesus needed to talk to the Father, He went straight back to the wilderness—that lonely, desolate place.

No one really enjoys the painful phases of life, but often God uses the “wilderness” to draw us close to Him. It’s in the places where we are not comfortable and don’t feel in control that we truly come to know and rely on God.

Abby Kelly is the author of, The Predatory Lies of Anorexia: A Survivor’s Story. More of her writing can be found HERE.