Refocused: Wilderness That Clarifies

First Week of Lent
Text: Gospel of Matthew 4:1–11

Lent begins in the wilderness. Before there are crowds, before there are miracles, before there is applause or opposition, there is only Jesus, hunger, silence, and temptation.

In the Gospel of Matthew 4, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness not as punishment but for clarity. The wilderness strips away noise. It exposes what is true and reveals what we trust. Our Lenten theme this year is Refocus, and the wilderness is where focus is sharpened.

I have noticed something when I go hiking. There is something breathtaking about standing in the middle of the woods or along a rocky trail. At first glance, it looks chaotic. Twisted branches, fallen logs, uneven ground, and wind moving unpredictably through the trees. Nothing looks symmetrical. Nothing looks controlled.

Yet the longer I stand there, the more I see order within the chaos. The ecosystem is working. The fallen tree feeds the soil. The stream carves its path with quiet persistence. What looks wild is actually sustained. What looks random is deeply held together. Creation is both chaotic and ordered at the same time, and every time I hike, I am reminded that God is present in both.

The wilderness in Matthew 4 is like that. Jesus faces real hunger, real temptation, and real vulnerability. The tempter invites him to grasp control, to turn stones into bread, to seize power, to demand certainty. Each temptation is an invitation to shift his focus away from trust and toward self-reliance.

But Jesus does not grasp. He trusts. He refocuses on what is already true. One does not live by bread alone. Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. The wilderness exposes competing voices, but it also clarifies the voice that matters most.

Sometimes we need the wilderness not because God wants to harm us but because distraction has blurred our vision. We live in constant noise. News cycles, notifications, endless commentary. We are tempted daily to grasp, perform, prove, secure, and consume. Lent invites us into a different space, a quieter, more honest space where we can notice what has been pulling our focus away from God and neighbor.

The wilderness reminds us that life can feel chaotic, but God’s presence is ordered. Temptation is loud, but truth is steady. The same God who holds the forests and streams together holds us steady when our inner world feels unsettled.

This first week of Lent, do not rush past the wilderness. Sit in it long enough to notice what feels unsettled and what feels tempting. Pay attention to where you feel anxious, then gently refocus.

Like a hiker who pauses to take in the landscape, linger long enough to see that even here, in hunger and uncertainty, in struggle and silence, God is holding things together.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church

A Prayer for Week One

Lord, lead me into the wilderness I need. Quiet the noise around me and within me. Expose what is pulling my heart away from you. Teach me again to trust what is true. Refocus my hunger, my worship, and my life. Amen.

This week, ask yourself each day, What is drawing my focus away from God and neighbor? And gently, without shame, turn back.