The story of Jesus Christ begins in the wilderness according to the Gospel of Mark.
Mark records that John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness as a wilderness man. Dressed in a camel's hair garment with a leather belt, eating locusts and wild honey, John boldly calls the people of Judea to come to the wilderness to repent of sin. In the spirit (and garb) of the great Old Testament prophet Elijah, John calls men and women to come to the wilderness and be baptized, confessing their sins.
John's wilderness ministry prepares the hearts and minds of the people to receive Jesus Christ. There, in the wilderness, the Son of God appears and is baptized by John in the Jordan. With the voice of the Father thundering from above and the presence of the Holy Spirit coming down from above, Jesus Christ begins his ministry.
Interestingly, after his baptism Jesus is driven into the wilderness for 40 days where he confonts wild animals and even Satan himself. The wilderness is once again a place of testing and renewal.
Throughout Scripture, wilderness experiences are intended to lead God's people to repentance and renewal. Repentance conveys the idea of turning from sin and turning to God - changing the direction of your life.
The idea of repentance is not popular in 2017.
Repentance implies sin; it implies that some decisions and actions are wrong no matter how they make you feel. Many people and many churches don't want to talk of biblical repentance because personal choice is often valued over obedience to the triune God.
The opening verses of Mark's Gospel reveal the need for repentance and the promise of the Gospel. The Gospel is a declaration of what God has done for you, not what you can earn or acheive with God helping you. The Gospel is good news. But it is good news for those who know they are sinners and need God to act on their behalf.
The Gospel is good news for those who understand that repentance is necessary to embracing God's redemptive work.
In other words, repentance is a course correction for your life - turning from following the values of American culture in 2017 and following the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament God often led his people into the wilderness to show them their need of him and their need to repent. Today, God may not call you out to the wilderness but he still calls you to repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.