Every year, at the beginning of Lent, we hear the story of Jesus and his forty days in the wilderness. This was certainly not a friendly place to be. Look at the picture shared here of Qumran, it will give you a sense of what Jesus had to endure. Tall cliffs of sandy rock, dusty and dry. The kind that leaves you covered from head to toe in ashy dirt. You would also find scrubby trees and brief patches of prickly grass, cement-like clumps of hardened clay and boulders of every size. This is where Jesus went to fast and pray at the beginning of his ministry.
It was here in the desert wilderness that Jesus faced what may have been the greatest temptations of his life. Can you think of 'wilderness' times in your own life where you have managed not to give in to despair or to the sorts of temptations which Jesus withstood?