Matthew 4: 1- 2 (NLT)
The Temptation of Jesus
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.”
Before I start writing, I want to admit that I got several of my ideas from Intervarsity Press’ online commentary. I like to read commentaries before I write the devotions and think about what I’ve read for a couple of days. Sometimes they spark ideas of my own; sometimes, like today, I’m borrowing some of those ideas – not word for word – but I likely would not have thought about this if I hadn’t read the commentary.
Notice the first verse – “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.” Those 40 days of fasting and the temptation that followed were not random. We had just seen the Holy Spirit’s blessing on Jesus as He began His ministry. “After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” (3: 16, 17) Now Jesus was led by that same Spirit into the wilderness.
Difficult times prior to doing what God has called us to do are not unusual. Abraham had to leave his homeland and travel to the land God had promised him, and the promised son (Isaac) was not born ‘prompto’ right after God told him he would be the father of a great nation. Joseph spent years in prison unfairly accused before he was released to save Egypt from famine. Moses spent years being a shepherd in a lonely place before God called him to lead Israel from Egypt. David spent years hiding while Saul searched to kill him before David became the king of Israel as foretold by Samuel.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of us could talk about difficult times in our lives before we began doing something we felt God was calling us to. We may not even have had any idea of what God’s future plans were. Difficult times happened, and afterward, we sensed God’s calling to a particular mission. It’s during those hard times that we lean on God to give us strength, and learn that He is enough. It’s when we discover we can’t do everything on our own that we become humble enough to include Him in even the little things we face. Difficult times can be learning times. If we’re honest with ourselves, you probably would agree that we don’t learn that much when times are good. We depend on our own ability during those times. It’s when we get scared that we don’t know how to cope, that we learn so much.
Jesus was the Son of God, but he was also human. He passed this temptation test with flying colours, but God still decided he needed to go through it. Hundreds of years earlier, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to the promised land. They obeyed God’s commands and there was a miraculous delivery and escape through the Red Sea. But then they became disgruntled, and that led to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God’s people failed the test. But Jesus came to rescue Israel and all the people of the world, and he did not fail. He knew how to trust God the Father completely.
So, how do you and I do on that front? Do we trust God in everything – small or big? Have we learned from difficult times in the past, or did we learn temporarily? It’s really something to confess and pray about on a daily basis because we are human.
Our song for today is Walk by Faith by Jeremy Camp.