For forty days Jesus lived in the barren and desolate places. Hour after hour he endured the leering eyes and manipulative lies of the one who craved his destruction.

No sustenance in his belly, no solace from a friend, just the mocking hyenas wanting the carcass after Satan finished with the soul.

Jesus knows the reality of the harsh and hideous. It is no stranger to him.

His defeat of the desert wilderness and resistance of the poisonous promises doesn’t lessen his experience, it highlights it.

You cannot claim victory from a battle you haven’t fought. You cannot overcome that which you never endured.

Be comforted. Jesus doesn’t just know the triumph, he also knows the trial.

Photos by Juli Kosolapova of the Jordan Desert