DAY 13- JAZ PYLANT

Day 15, March 19, 2025

When reading Matthew 4 and Jesus’ experience of 40 days in the wilderness I am encouraged and reminded that God uses the wilderness to transform us.

In 2022 I found myself in the wilderness when I was unable to conceive a child. Months of waiting, pregnancy loss, and failed fertility treatments left me desperate to be a mother. I was constantly seeking the will of man to overpower the timing of God. I was overcome by jealousy of those who had children, sad that I was not in their shoes, and frustrated that I could not will the gift of a child into fruition.

Like Jesus, my time in the wilderness left me hungry and tempted by worldly things. But as we see in Matthew 4, God uses the wilderness as a place to prepare people for what is to come. The difficult times we experience in the wilderness are used for something meaningful and powerful.

My time longing for a child prepared and opened my heart in ways I could have never imagined. God used this time to grow my faith. He brought me an entirely new community of people and life long friendships I would not have had otherwise. God also prepared me in motherhood. It’s hard to put into words the peace and confidence I have in being a mother but I know this is only because of the work the Lord did in me during my time in the wilderness.

Jesus did not give in to the temptations the devil presented him and in the end angels attended to him. I hope that if you too are currently in a time of wilderness, you embrace the difficulties, shy away from temptations, and allow the Lord to transform you. Because if you do, you will truly never be the same.

– Jaz Pylant

Prayer: Comforting God, you are always with us, even when we feel out there in the wilderness all alone. Those wilderness experiences often give us the tools we need to search for you, reach for you, and recognize that the promise of hope comes from you. Amen.