Mark 1:12-13 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts...
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil...
Luke 4:1-2 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil...
The Holy Spirit "drives" Jesus - "leads" him - to a place where he will be tempted by Satan? But I thought the Holy Spirit was supposed to steer us clear of trouble? And here he is making Jesus go into the very presence of evil.
My son Brent is extremely intelligent. He spoke in sentences at an age when most children hadn't yet said their first words. Not only does he have the ability to remember any fact and situation, but he can put it into perspective for you too. He is amazing at problem solving, as well. My grandmother would say that he is not only book smart, but he has horse sense too.
But Brent was also born with vision issues - legally blind in one eye and a hole in his vision in the other eye. It made it hard to copy notes from the board or overhead projector at school. His middle school science teacher just couldn't understand how someone so brilliant couldn't get the notes copied down. She felt that if his eyes prohibited him from copying notes from her projector, then he should be transferred out of her advanced class into a regular class. And she let everyone know -- Brent, the other students, the other teachers, etc. She was very vocal about it. And she was really awful to the little guy. She was making things miserable for him. And he wasn't doing well in the class.
The specialist assigned to Brent heard about what was happening and called me. She confided that the teacher was being unfair because she didn't want to have to put herself out by preparing Brent copies of the notes. I wanted to take him out of the class - who needs to deal with this kind of nonsense? But the specialist had a much better plan. The specialist actually started attending class with Brent a couple of times a week. She helped him deal with the teacher... not by directly interceding, but by teaching Brent to advocate for himself. Sending him to ask for copies of her notes even when the teacher might scowl at him. And teaching him how to address and deal with her rude comments.
When I talked to the specialist later, she said that Brent was doing great in there now. She said, "Brent had faced the dragon and has tamed her!" Brent even chose to stay in her class the next semester - she was the only advanced science teacher - and he knew how to deal with her now.
Just as the specialist went into the difficult situation with Brent, the Holy Spirit goes with Jesus to face evil head on. Jesus wasn't sent without help - wisdom and power. The situation will make him stronger. It will build muscle.
I wonder if the Holy Spirit doesn't sometimes drive us into situations that stink just so that we will build muscle? We aren't alone in those situations. If we trust God, we can tap into that wisdom and power that longs to guide us:
5 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. 6 But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; 7 for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord." James 1:5-7 .
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