In yesterday's study we glanced over a couple verses at the end that I want to focus in on today. These verses are found in Mark 1:12-13.
At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
These two verses are huge in our understanding of the depths of the Good News we have in Jesus. Many people in the world today struggle to find connection with God. He is so much greater than we are, it is hard to connect. How can we connect with a God who doesn't understand our weakness and struggles? How can we draw closer to a God who doesn't understand our dependency on food, drink, social interaction, and all the things that fulfill our daily lives?
In steps Jesus. When the light of the world came in human form in the man of Jesus, He limited Himself to be subject to all the needs, hurts, and struggles of the human life. Through His life he dealt with the same things we do. He experienced the dependency that a child has on his or her parents. He experienced what it was to be hungry and thirsty. He knew what it was to morn the death of a friend, to be betrayed by someone close to Him, to be rejected by those He loved, to be mocked, to be slandered, to be ridiculed, and ultimately killed.
The Good News:
Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." Jesus Christ has faced every test and trial the you and I will ever face and He was victorious. He understands what you are facing today.
God wasn't content to sit on a lofty perch and watch and wait for man to struggle fruitlessly to crawl to His thrown. God stepped out of His thrown and into the human experience in order to meet us where we are. God isn't waiting for us to get our lives together so we can come before Him, but He comes to us in the midst of our failure and says, "Follow me. I will show you a better way." God desires to work in your life right now.
May you embrace the Good News that God wants to meet with you right now. He loves you! He desires to do a mighty work in your life today.
Thank you Brad for explaining this so clear to me. I don't know and it really does not matter but I feel I have been tested and retested and I know that I have had some major doubt but after understanding these words I feel hope again. Kelly C
ReplyDeleteI am glad you found encouragement. When we realize that we have a God that can relate to all the stuff we go through and over come it should provide hope because it means that through Him we can over come also.
ReplyDeletePhilippians 4:13, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."