Immediately the Spirit drove (Jesus) into the wilderness. (Mark 1:12)

It happened right after Jesus was baptized. Off the the wilderness He was driven, and there He was for 40 days, with wild animals, being tempted by Satan.

And that’s how faith feels sometimes.

Vulnerable.

Tested.

Alone.

Following God doesn’t presume an easy path. When it gets hard, we want to run from the wilderness and find something that makes sense to us. We want comfort. We want something different. We often run to something, anything, that gives us temporary relief. We might find a path that is slightly easier, at least for a short jaunt, but in the long run?

In the long run, avoiding the not-so-easy path in the wilderness catches up to us. There are lessons we need to learn there, ways we need to reach out to and trust God. ways we can’t experience when we’re on the easy path, surrounded by what feels a bit more comforting to us. God gets to decide what we need and when we need it. When we avoid that, we avoid Him. And that comes at a great cost.

In fact, pretty much everything of great value in life comes at a great cost. Discerning the truth of the spiritual cost we’re paying takes effort and humility.

Where are you, and what is it costing you?