Journey to the Cross 
Pause
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Charlotte Elliott in “Just As I Am” (1834)
Listen
Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving. The devil said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread.”
Luke 4:1-4
Think
In biblical accounts, the wilderness is a barren land – a place of loneliness, a place of struggle, a place where people get lost. Luke tells us that right after his baptism, Jesus spends forty days alone, fasting in the wilderness. And he is tempted. It’s a story of Jesus’ inner struggle with his identity – his calling, purpose, and power.
Those forty days in the wilderness serve as a symbol for the season of Lent. So we can ask ourselves: What wilderness are we in? What inner struggles and temptations do we face? Are there questions of identity and purpose that nag at us when we’re all alone?
Jesus emerges from the wilderness and begins teaching and calling his disciples. He emerges reoriented, ready to live out his purpose.
If you feel like you’re wandering through a wilderness these days, lacking orientation, feeling confused or lonely – “tossed about, with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within, without” – take comfort in this: Jesus is with you. You can bring all of that on the journey. And on the other side of Lent, you might even emerge reoriented.
Meredith Forssman
Pray
Jesus, I want to walk close to you. But sometimes I am tempted to just go my own way, and I get lost.
Here are the struggles I’m dealing with…
Be my guide on this journey. Don’t leave my side. Show me the way through the wilderness.
Amen.
Go
Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Charlotte Elliott in “Just As I Am” (1834)
