From/To

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty 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

From the Jordan to the wilderness

From presentation to preparation

From affirmation to testing

From the crowd, to isolation

From fullness to hunger

From “You are” to “If you are”

And finally, from wild animals to angels (See Mark 1:13)

The way of Christ is the way of movement. From high to low; from low to high. With little plateau in between. God does not call us without preparing us to face the challenges we will encounter; and the enemy will always defy our calling and affirmation (unless of course we offer no threat to his attempts to overthrow the Kingdom of God.) It is a cycle of contrasts. It is important for us to note the movement of cycles in our life – to record growth and progress in our preparation times, to draw encouragement and inspiration in our plateaus, and to prevent the distraction of pridefulness in our fruitfulness.

Let’s Do Something About It           

Where are you in the cycle of contrasts? Prayerfully consider your spiritual journey over the last year. What have been your contrasts? What do they tell you about the path God has you on right now?