Friday November 18, 2016

 

There are two things you ought to know when dealing with temptations. First, all temptations are fueled by misleading information, falsehoods, and/or lies. The intent of all temptations is to fool you into believing that you have something to gain when in fact you have more to lose. Second, when dealing with temptations, there is one question that always needs answering: can God be trusted? We are led to believe that God cannot be trusted when in fact nothing could be farther from the truth.

 

Matthew 4:1 NIV

 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

 

In the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is led by the Spirit to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. His first temptation was to turn stones into bread, to meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way. His second temptation was to gain recognition for himself by using His talents and abilities and by demonstrating His power. His third temptation was to achieve the right thing the wrong way by acting outside the scope of God’s laws. In each of these temptations, there was a lie that needed to be identified and replaced with a specific truth. Then, there was the most important question any man or woman could ever ask: can God be trusted?

 

Jesus responded to each temptation by identifying the lie and replacing it with the specific corresponding truth. Then, He chose to trust and wait on God. Although He was hungry after forty days of fasting, He waited on God. Although He was the only begotten Son of God, He chose to wait on God instead of seeking recognition for himself. Additionally, although the kingdoms of the world were rightfully His, He decided to wait for God to turn them back over to him. Jesus knew that God led him into the wilderness to be tempted, and it would be God, who would lead him out of the temptations. In other words, He decided to wait on God.

 

There is always more to our temptations than meets the eye, and there is always more to lose than to gain when we give into our temptations. God can be trusted and He always rewards those who trust in Him.

 

Matthew 4:10 NIV

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.