"when We’re Pulled Away” Lent 1st Sunday Series

There’s something about the season of Lent that feels like stepping into a quieter room. The lights dim a little. The noise settles. The pace slows. And suddenly, we can hear things we usually drown out.

We can feel things we usually outrun. We can notice things we usually ignore. Lent is not a season of punishment. It’s not a season where God scowls at us and says, “Look at what you’ve done.”

Lent is a season of returning…a season where God gently places a hand on our shoulder and says, “Come back. Come closer. Come home.”

And that’s why our series is called Come to Me. Because that’s the heartbeat of God throughout Scripture. Not “Try harder.” Not “Be better.” Not “Fix yourself.” But simply, “Come to Me.”

Today, on this first Sunday in Lent, we begin in the wilderness … the place where Jesus was tempted, the place where Israel wandered, the place where our own hearts often feel pulled in a dozen directions.

And we pair that wilderness story with the words of Isaiah, who speaks to people who have wandered far from God and yet are met with mercy, not condemnation.

Before we go any further, let’s hear the story that sets the tone for this season.

(READ MATTHEW 4:1–11 HERE)

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,

and they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

When we hear that story, it’s easy to imagine the wilderness as some far-off, dramatic place … a desert, a lonely landscape, a spiritual battleground. But the truth is, the wilderness is often much closer than we think.

The wilderness is the place where our real desires surface.

It’s the place where the noise quiets down enough for us to hear the whispers we usually ignore.

It’s the place where the temptations we carry every day finally show themselves.

Matthew tells us that Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Not pushed. Not tricked. Not abandoned. Led. The wilderness is not a place God avoids … it’s a place God uses.

And in that wilderness, Jesus faces three temptations. But they’re not the cartoonish temptations we sometimes imagine … a devil with horns offering obviously evil things.

These temptations are subtle. They’re familiar. They’re the kinds of temptations we face every day.

The first temptation is about control. “Turn these stones to bread.” Jesus is hungry. He’s vulnerable. He’s alone.

And the temptation is simple: “Take matters into your own hands. Fix it yourself. You don’t need to wait on God.”

How many times have we felt that pull? “I can handle this.” “I don’t need help.” “I’ll take control.”

The second temptation is about security. “Throw yourself down… God will catch you.” It’s the temptation to force God’s hand. To demand proof. To say, “If you really love me, then show me.”

It’s the temptation to make faith into a transaction instead of a relationship.

And the third temptation is about power. “All these kingdoms I will give you.” It’s the temptation to take shortcuts. To grasp for influence. To choose the easy path instead of the faithful one.

Control. Security. Power. These are not temptations for “bad people.” These are temptations for human people.

They are the everyday pulls that tug at our hearts … the subtle ways we drift from trust into self-reliance, from surrender into striving, from God’s way into our own way.

And before we move on, it’s worth remembering that Matthew … the one who gives us this wilderness story … knew something about seasons of wandering and returning.