The Wilderness - Pt 4

While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. (Luke 5:12-16 ESV).

Today we come to a relatively difficult theory; however, it is none-the-less vital to our understanding. It is the “Voice Recognition Theory.” In the Gospels we see that Jesus hears two voices in the wilderness. The voice of the Father says: You are my beloved Son. The voice of the enemy counters: If you are the Son of God, prove it. I have often been asked for help in “hearing” the will of God. This is often associated with some difficult decision in the midst of a challenging circumstance. I love the wonderful truth found in the Prophet Isaiah’s writing: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’.” (Isaiah 30:21). The real key is in being able to recognize who’s voice it is that we hear. In his book Prototype, Jonathan Martin argues: “The Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness, rejuvenated with the affirmation of His identity in God’s eyes, and allowed Him to step away from His day-to-day life until the noise and hurry of the world around Him was stripped down to the point where He could easily distinguish the voice of the accuser from the voice of the Father. The same can be true for us.” It is entirely possible that the wilderness experiences of our lives offer us the gift of distraction-free listening. That leads me to believe that this developed ability might cause us to voluntarily withdraw to lonely places to pray? (v. 16). While Aaron is in France for the summer, Mary and I look forward to have a weekly video call each Sunday. Seeing him is much better than just hearing him; however, I am positive that I don’t need to see him to recognize his voice. Even though it has change a bit over the years as he has matured, it is still entirely recognizable to us. This is true simply because we have heard it clearly for over three decades. Greater knowledge brings greater familiarity. Challenging circumstances always bring us to a position where we are afforded the opportunity to hear the voice of God with clarity. I never go looking for the wilderness; however, I am never closer to the Lord than while I’m in it. If you find yourself in one of those times in your life, let the Holy Spirit use it to familiarize you more than ever with the voice of the Father.