Temptation

Jesus had just left Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness. He was being led around for 40 days, where He ate nothing, and He was hungry. Very important parts of this temptation were that He was led "around" by the Spirit in the wilderness. Scripture said He was "full" of the Holy Spirit, and then He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

The devil decided to tempt Jesus after those 40 days without food, possibly hoping to catch a weakness in Him, but remember, It is Jesus, the Son of God, and He was "filled" with the Holy Spirit as well. The following verses contain the temptation: Luke 4: 1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. ³ And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” ⁵ And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ^{7 Therefore, if you worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” 8} Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” ⁹ And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; ¹⁰ for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’ ¹¹ and, ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” ¹² And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”¹³ When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Jesus handled all three shots by the devil, and He handled them with the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit leading Him around the full time. The time in the wilderness did end, but during that time, the devil tried to get Jesus to flinch, but Jesus would not and did not. Things we learn from the example of Jesus are:

1. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in your life.

2. When tempted, trust the perfect Word of God to help you discern God's way of meeting that temptation.

3. Trust the Lord to bring you through the temptation without compromising your faith walk.

4. Live your life totally relying on the Word of God.

5. Seek to glorify God and not yourself.

God moving in your life is a wonderful time to lift Him up and give Him glory, and NOT let narcissism be the result by saying, I did it! All of that begins in our heart, and God knows who is genuine, even when that person may say a big "praise the Lord." Those words should mean something, so give Him praise from the "inside out." Resist the temptation to take credit for something God did when He does it. James said it well in James 4: 1⁰ Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren