Why Wilderness Experiences Matter
Christians have long valued the story of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness as being significant for their own journey of faith and struggle. The story begins with these words from the Gospel of Luke:
"And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry" (Luke 4:1-2).
The first question we want to ask is—why? Why would Jesus go through this? What’s the significance of this moment and why do the Gospels emphasize it? And, more broadly, why would anyone choose such an experience?
Interestingly, this idea of prolonged periods of testing and introspection—especially lasting 40 days—appears not just in the life of Jesus, but throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, Moses spends 40 days on Mount Sinai in the presence of God, receiving the law (Exodus 24). Then there’s the story of Elijah, who, in a moment of deep despair, spends 40 days traveling and ultimately experiences a profound encounter with God at Mount Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai (1 Kings 19).
Even beyond these well-known figures, the theme of 40-day periods continues. In Jonah 3, the people of Nineveh are called to repentance, and they engage in a 40-day fast to show their sincerity. Noah saw rain for 40 days while the floodwaters covered the earth. And don’t forget the Israelites, who wandered in the desert for 40 years before finally entering the Promised Land.
These stories are more than just historical accounts. They are reminders of times of testing, transformation, and profound encounters with God. It’s a recurring theme—times of hardship and struggle, but also opportunities for reflection and connection with God.
So why would anyone choose to endure something like this? Why would Jesus do it, and why is this pattern repeated in the Bible?
When given the choice between comfort and struggle, most of us would pick the easier path. For example, imagine I offered you two doors to choose from. Option A leads to a relaxing Sunday afternoon with a nice potluck meal and a nap. Option B involves 40 days without food and the temptation of the devil. I think we all know which one most of us would pick.
But here’s where the wilderness experience of Jesus challenges us. He didn’t pick the easy path. Scripture says that he was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. It was God’s will for him to go through this difficult, isolating time. The question is—why?
Finding God in the Quiet
One of the reasons I believe wilderness experiences like this are significant comes from a simple memory from my childhood. Do you remember Where’s Waldo? These books were filled with complex, colorful illustrations, and the goal was to find Waldo, the guy in the red-and-white striped shirt, among all the distractions in the picture.
The reason those books were so fascinating is that finding Waldo was hard—there were so many distractions that it was easy to miss him.
Imagine now, instead of a cluttered page, a blank white page. If Waldo were on that page, he’d be much easier to find, right?
In the same way, our lives are full of distractions—some good, some bad, but all competing for our attention. We’re surrounded by things that pull us away from focusing on God. Whether it’s work, relationships, entertainment, or just the busy pace of life, we’re constantly pulled in a thousand different directions. And that makes it hard to focus on what’s truly important.
The wilderness, in a spiritual sense, is a place where all these distractions are stripped away. It’s a space where we can focus on God without the noise of the world around us.
Elijah’s story from 1 Kings 19 offers a profound insight into this. After 40 days of hardship, Elijah stands on the mountain and experiences a dramatic series of events: a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire. But the Bible says that God was not in any of those things. Instead, after the fire, Elijah hears “the sound of sheer silence.”
It’s in that quiet, unassuming moment that Elijah experiences the presence of God.
And so it is with us. We often expect God to speak in big, dramatic ways—through loud, attention-grabbing events. But more often than not, God speaks in the quiet, subtle moments. When we’re constantly surrounded by distractions, it’s easy to miss his voice.
That’s why wilderness experiences—times of solitude, silence, and focused attention—are so important. They provide an opportunity to clear away the noise and focus on God. In the quiet, we find God more easily, and we can begin to hear what he’s saying to us.
So, the first reason we might seek wilderness experiences or moments of solitude and prayer is to find God in a way that we can’t experience in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It’s in the silence that we’re most likely to hear God’s voice and experience his presence in a deep and meaningful way.
The Persistence of Satan
While wilderness experiences can certainly help us commune with God in profound ways, there's another important reason we need these times of solitude and struggle: to prepare for the persistence of Satan.
In the wilderness, Jesus didn't just experience a time of divine communion—he also faced direct temptation from the devil. If we don't prepare ourselves for life's struggles and the persistent nature of Satan’s temptations, we risk being caught off guard.
The temptation of Jesus is often misunderstood. We tend to think of it as a singular event—three distinct temptations that happened in one sitting. However, the text paints a different picture. Luke 4:2 tells us that Jesus was “tempted by the devil for 40 days,” and while three specific temptations are recorded, the reality is far more continuous.
Think about it: Jesus wasn’t just tempted three times. The devil’s persistence didn’t just end after one conversation. I believe that Satan didn’t approach Jesus once and say, "Here are three tough questions—pass these, and you’re done." No, the text makes it clear that for 40 days, Jesus faced temptation, day in and day out. The recorded temptations we see—the turning of stones into bread, the tempting of power, and the testing of God’s promises—are just snapshots of a longer, relentless ordeal.
To make my point clearer, consider how Matthew’s version of one temptation narrative begins with the word “again” (Matthew 4:8). This might not be a narrative transition. It hints that Satan showed him the kingdoms of the world, asking for worship, but when Jesus resisted, the devil didn't just walk away. He came back again and again with the same persistent temptation and testing. Day after day, Jesus was confronted with choices and doubts, all the while remaining steadfast.
Even after the recorded temptations ended, Scripture reminds us that Satan didn’t leave for good. Luke 4:13 notes that after the final temptation, “the devil departed from him until an opportune time.” This is a crucial point: the wilderness experience wasn’t the only time Jesus faced temptation. It was a direct confrontation, but Satan would return. In the same way, the battles we face in our spiritual lives don’t just end after a few victories—they are ongoing.
That’s why these wilderness experiences are so vital. They’re like strength training for our spiritual muscles. In the wilderness, we prepare ourselves for life’s unexpected attacks. When we take time to withdraw, to be alone with God, we train ourselves to endure, to resist temptation, and to stay grounded in our faith, knowing that Satan's persistence will always be there.
We all face temptations—some big, some small—but the reality is that Satan is relentless. He doesn’t give up just because we win a battle. He’ll be back tomorrow, the next day, and the next. But when we build resilience in the wilderness, through times of solitude and focused prayer, we strengthen our ability to withstand whatever comes next.
Learning That Satan Can Lose
Wilderness moments are not just important for enduring the persistence of Satan—they also serve to teach us a crucial lesson: Satan can lose.
When we're faced with temptation, it often feels as if there's no other choice. The weight of temptation can make us believe that failing is inevitable, and that we have no other path but the one that leads to wrongdoing. We may feel powerless in those moments, convinced that we can't overcome what lies before us. But the truth is, we need wilderness experiences to remind us that victory is possible—that Satan can be defeated.
One of my favorite authors, G.K. Chesterton, offers a profound insight into this idea. He was once asked why we tell children fairy tales when they often contain frightening creatures like dragons. His response was insightful: fairy tales don’t create fear in children; the fear is already in them because the world is full of scary things. The role of fairy tales is not to teach kids about evil but to show them that the scary things can lose. They need to know that the dragon can be slain, and that evil can be defeated.
In the same way, our wilderness moments teach us that temptation and evil do not have to win. We are already aware of the darkness in the world, and our struggles allow us to see firsthand that we don't have to give in to that darkness. Through God, we can resist and overcome.
This idea is not only shown in individual moments of victory but it’s also woven into the larger narrative of Scripture. For example, in Judges, after the Israelites had conquered the land of Canaan, God didn’t immediately rid them of all their enemies. Why? Judges 3:1-2 says that God left some enemies behind “to test Israel” and “teach war” to the generations who hadn’t experienced it. The idea was that the next generation would need to face challenges and obstacles, so they could learn how to stand strong and fight.
This is reflected in our personal growth as well. Hebrews 5:14 talks about spiritual maturity, saying that “solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” We don't just learn the difference between right and wrong by being told what to do; we learn it by facing temptation and choosing to resist. It’s through constant practice and by actively engaging in our struggles that we develop the ability to discern what is good and what is evil.
The smaller temptations we face in life are like practice for the larger ones. And every victory—no matter how small—builds our confidence and strengthens us for the challenges that lie ahead. When we face these challenges head-on, we gain experience, and we learn that it’s possible to win. This prepares us for the greater struggles of life, where the stakes are higher.
Even Jesus understood the importance of building confidence in his disciples. In Luke 10, Jesus sends out 72 disciples on a mission, asking them to cast out demons and heal the sick. When they return, they’re filled with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” Jesus responds with, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” This isn’t a statement about Satan’s origin; it’s an affirmation of their victory. Jesus is saying, “You’ve done it. You’ve defeated Satan. And that’s how it works. Victory is possible.”
This moment was crucial because, soon, these same disciples would go out into the world to face much larger challenges. But before they did, Jesus needed them to know that success was possible. Satan could be defeated. Their victories over demons in the small missions were a prelude to the greater victories they would face.
In the same way, our wilderness experiences and moments of trial teach us that Satan can lose. Each small victory gives us confidence for the next battle. Small victories show us that temptation doesn't have to win. No matter how strong Satan seems, he can be defeated. And every time we win, we grow stronger and more capable of facing the next challenge that life throws our way. These wilderness moments, though difficult, are essential for helping us build the strength to resist, and ultimately, to prevail.
Preparing for the Worst Day
Wilderness experiences are not just about enduring Satan's persistence or learning that Satan can lose. They are vital because they prepare us for the inevitable harder days ahead.
The 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness were intense, but they weren’t the hardest days of his life. That day came much later. Jesus, unlike us, had some sense of what was coming. He repeatedly told his disciples that he was headed to Jerusalem, where he would face opposition, arrest, and ultimately death. He knew the worst day was ahead of him.
For us, we don’t have that certainty. We don’t know when the worst day of our lives will come. One of these days, we will face our most difficult challenge, but we can’t label it in advance. We don't know whether it’s ahead of us or behind us. But we can be sure that one day, we will face our worst day.
So, why do we spend time in the wilderness, building a stronger relationship with God and deepening our resistance to temptation? Because when our worst day arrives, we need to be prepared. Jesus spent time in the wilderness to fight Satan, knowing that the greatest battle of his life would take place at the cross. And in Luke’s narrative of Jesus’ crucifixion, Satan seems to be lurking at every corner. At Judas’ betrayal, “Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot” (22:3). Before Peter’s denial, “Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (22:31).
Peter had no idea that his worst day was coming. He boasted about his loyalty, but when the time came, he denied Jesus three times. Yet Jesus prayed for him, telling him that he would return stronger and would eventually strengthen his brothers. Peter stumbled, but he didn’t stay down. He got back up and became a key leader in the early church. Jesus prepared his disciples for this moment, just as he prepared himself in the wilderness.
When Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest, He asked his disciples to pray with him that they “may not enter into temptation” (22:40). Jesus knew his day was coming, and he asked God to remove the cup of suffering if possible. But he was resolved to do God’s will, even though he wished it could be different (22:41-42). His prayer time in the garden was part of his preparation for what was ahead.
As the mob approached to arrest him, Jesus recognized what he was seeing. At one time, he had seen Satan fall like lightning. But that day he saw Satan ascend. “This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (22:52-53). And yet, while evil rose, Jesus rose still higher. Jesus was ready because he had prepared himself for this moment through a thousand quiet prayers and a million silent moments.
For us, the key takeaway is this: one day will be our worst day. Why do we pray daily? Because there will come a day when we will need prayer to survive. Why do we practice doing right, even in small things? Because one day, doing right in the face of overwhelming wrong will be the hardest thing we will have to do.
By spending time in the wilderness—through prayer, resisting temptation, and growing in our faith—we are preparing ourselves for that inevitable challenge. In the end, Satan will lose.
But whether he loses in your life depends on two things: God's strength and mercy and your daily commitment to bringing that into your life. The wilderness moments aren’t just for the here and now; they are building you for the hardest battles ahead, helping you to stand firm and eventually see Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Dr. Benjamin Williams is the Senior Minister at the Central Church of Christ in Ada, Oklahoma and a regular writer at So We Speak. Check out his books The Faith of John’s Gospel and Why We Stayed or follow him on Twitter, @Benpreachin.
