After 40 days of fasting, we learn in Matthew 4 that Jesus faced intense temptation from the devil. Jesus was in a hungry and physically weakened state. It's at such times of vulnerability when Satan is most successful at alluring us into succumbing to poor choices, but he would not have success in tempting Jesus.
Satan tempted him to use divine power to satisfy his appetite by turning stone to bread. Next he tempted him with the fame that could be so easily gained by jumping from the pinnacle of the temple and calling upon angels to catch him. Last, he tempted Jesus with wealth, splendor, and earthly glory for the price of worshiping the tempter.
Most of our own temptations tend to fall into these three categories as well: (1) appetites, (2) pride/vanity, or (3) power/wealth.
It's interesting that immediately following Jesus' success in passing these tests, "angels came and ministered unto him." Howard W Hunter once taught:
"As with Jesus, so with us, relief comes and miracles are enjoyed after the trial and temptation of our faith."
The final thought I'd like to share is about a much more devious, insidious temptation, one that is also very applicable to us today. The devil taunted Jesus multiple times with the phrase "if thou be the Son of God." He attacked Jesus' identity, and he is constantly attacking ours.
Do any of these sound familiar?:
- You're not good enough
- You're not pretty enough
- You're not smart enough
- You're not worthy enough
The truth is that YOU ARE ENOUGH because you're a child of God.
We must take comfort in knowing we are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father who is the God and King of the universe. He has a divine plan for each of us, his beloved children, and He will help us overcome all trials and temptations in this life. Jesus knew who he was and would not be persuaded otherwise. We can likewise conquer with this knowledge of who we are and let that guide how we live our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment