Imagine Jesus, walking throughout the countryside of northern Israel, in the region of Galilee.  Dust, heat, wind and sometimes rain.  His ministry had no headquarters or fixed address. The itinerant nature of His calling meant He was on the road, traveling from place to place as the Father directed.  Knowing the end goal was the cross, and the beginning was the baptism at the Jordan River, the middle was not mapped out specifically.

Can you see Jesus stepping out of the waters in the Jordan, the Holy Spirit lighting upon the Son of God like a dove?  With droplets dripping from His beard and hair, His homespun clothing saturated, Jesus emerged from the river and then what?

In Luke's Gospel, chapter four starts with these words:  "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days He was tempted [tested] by the devil..." (Luke 4:1-2a)  This new ministry venture began with a testing.  Now Jesus had lived 30 years on the earth, submitted to an earthly set of parents and learning under Joseph as an apprentice carpenter.  He had learned much about life, human nature, family, worship as a Jew. Leaving Nazareth, the home and family He knew and loved, Jesus set out for Jerusalem and was baptized under the ministry of John the Baptist.  With the exciting launch of His ministry with a baptism and then the heavens opening and God's voice of approval, how deflating to be led alone to the wilderness.

Somehow, God's plan was to allow the devil to tempt Jesus.  (Luke 4:1-13)  You can read that account and see how the devil found the most vulnerable and key areas of Jesus' identity and calling and directly attacked Him.  And you can discover how Jesus used the "sword of the Spirit, the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17) to defeat the lies and schemes of the evil one.

Maybe you are about to launch into a new season of your life.  Is God challenging you to step out and begin to serve Him in a new way?  Are you trudging through life and wondering if there is more to following Jesus?  Possibly involvement in your church, community or beyond?

If so, don't be surprised if a time of testing happens.  Doubts about God's call.  Financial challenges.  Opposition from friends, church members or even family?  The Holy Spirit often leads us into ministry through the testing grounds of such trials.  This prepares us for the real life challenges that ministry of the Gospel will throw at us. 

Pray and see what God would have for you!