However, in the mind of many Christians, the wilderness is the last place we want to see and the last place where we would like to be. When most Christians think about the wilderness, they think about the place that is lonely, barren, isolated, and lacking in the things needed for survival. The wilderness is also seen by many Christians as a "prison" a Christian is exiled to (like Napoleon's Elba and Corsica) for a sin they committed of if they feel that God hates them for some unspecified reason. The wilderness in the eyes of a Christian is similar to being sent to some remote area with nothing around you by a company you work for the purpose of completing a mission.

Wilderness is defined by the dictionary as:

wilderness {('wil-d&r-n&s) Middle English, from 'wildern' meaning wild, from Old English 'wilddEoren' meaning of wild beasts} (1): A tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings (2): An area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community. (3): An empty or pathless area considered as barren and a wasteland.

By seeing the definition listed above, it appears that the definition of wilderness can mean both a naturally developed paradise and a barren wasteland. The term wilderness can apply to a beautiful redwood forest or to a sandy desert. However, the more popular definition of wilderness is the definition that describes the barren wasteland that the untamed animals run wild living to the rule of "Survival of the fittest".

In fact, the term "wilderness" is mentioned at various times throughout the Bible. Biblical characters such as Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the Israelites, King David, Elijah, and John The Baptist. If you look at their specific circumstances, there are two definite reasons that these men of God went into the wilderness.

• Those driven to the wilderness by other humans: Jacob went into the wilderness and into Rebecca's family because of his tricking of Esau out of his birthright. Moses killed an Egyptian and fled for his life. The Israelites went for forty years because they did not have enough faith to seize the promise land. Hagar and Ishmael went because Abraham sent them out of his camp to take covenant with God with his wife Sarah. Elijah fed after hearing that Ahab and Jezebel wanted to kill him. David fled after Saul wanted to kill him. Even though these people were sent out by another human, God did provide for them and later on God did rise these people out of their wilderness (except Hagar and Ishmael and all but Joshua and Caleb) to conquer and take their divine place per the calling of God on their life.
• Those driven to the wilderness by God himself: Abraham went to see the provision of God to the descendants of his seed. John the Baptist went to become strong in the Lord and to come out preaching the Gospel and proclaim that Jesus the Messiah had come. Elijah was told to go there to be fed by ravens. It was at this point in their lives that God sent them there to both provide for their needs, show them their provision, but also to make character into the lives, actions, and deeds of these men.

However, one man showed us why the wilderness is really the "WILDerness". It was during his visit to the wilderness that he experience the test of sins against his body, the test of sins against his soul, and the test of sins against the Spirit.

Please Click here for part two of this article.