Our theme this year at Extreme Kansas Camp is Wilderness. We are studying when the spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil in Matthew 4, as well as the connecting passage about wilderness in Deuteronomy 8.
As we study and reflect about what it means to be in the wilderness, the book of Psalms is an amazing tool to consider. Author Walter Brueggemann groups this "Psalms Spirituality" into three categories: Psalms of Orientation, Psalms of Disorientation, and Psalms of Reorientation. Every Psalm can be put into one of these three categories.
Psalms of Orientation are Psalms of the summer, paralleling life at creation. Psalms of Disorientation are Psalms of the fall and winter, signifying the consequences of the fall of man in the garden. Psalms of Reorientation are Psalms of the spring, representing a new life given to us through the grace of the Father.
Whether you are oriented, disoriented, or experiencing a new orientation, The Psalms are a perfect prayerbook and songbook for whatever situation we are in, the wilderness or not.
So, we see Jesus responding to the Temptations in the wilderness with truth from God's word. Thinking about the truth and walking in obedience is vital whether we are oriented, disoriented, or moving towards a new orientation.