“Led by the Spirit into the desert… Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights.” I have come to learn, to believe, to rely on God, His Word, His grace, His Spirit to guide and lead me through the path of everlasting life. Honestly, left to us, without a good sense of direction or spiritual discernment, we would find ourselves in more situations and conversations that would lead us to more sadness, hurt, and disappoint. Left to our own judgement and imperfect knowledge, trying to navigate through life on our own without God’s help, leaves us vulnerable, unhappy, dissatisfied, and lost. Without God’s support, you may want to ask yourself, where are you going and plan to be if not led by the Spirit and the way God intends for you? God is the way of truth and the only way and the only life that guarantees us eternal happiness. So where are you going? Where are you heading? Is it a place of misery and mistrust or a place of genuine joy and unprecedented happiness? We tend not to want anyone to lead us but often choose to imitate and follow someone else. The Good Shepherd leads and guides us. Good leaders and good shepherds are those who unreservedly follow the Lord, imitate His deeds, are attentive to His voice and follow Him wherever He goes. The challenge of our journey is to come to intimately know and genuinely trust that God’s way is so much better than our own way. It is the only way. In His great mercy, God chose to free Israel from captivity and physical slavery then lead them into the desert to free them from their slavery and captivity to sin. God peeled back their physical attachments and invited them to detach from sinfulness and become more dependent and spiritually attached to God. Lent is a time of invitation to follow God into the desert and allow God to perform the same miracle for us. Cardinal Manning’s prayer for light is a good way to begin the journey. “O Holy Spirit of God, take me as your disciple. Guide me, illuminate me, sanctify me. Bind my hands, that they may do no evil. Cover my eyes, that they may see it no more. Sanctify my heart, that evil may not dwell within me. You are my God. You are my guide. Whatever you forbid me, I will renounce. And whatever you command me, in your strength I will do. Lead me then unto the fullness of your truth.” Amen
