Matthew 4
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
In the beginning verse it says that the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. This to me was like "WOW...why would the holy spirit lead someone into temptation?" But then I realized that the Spirit tested Jesus by allowing Satan to tempt him to sin. I feel like we live in a materialistic society surrounded by countless of temptations such as money, lust, drugs and alcohol etc. I don't think I have EVER gone through a day without being tempted and because of so many temptations, I often get angry at God or even start falling away from Him. However, HE purposely allow our faith to be tempted to measure how strongly and successfully we can walk with Him. So instead of always feeling like we're being tempted by the devil, it would be more encouraging and correct in saying that God is testing us. He watches us every moment of our lives and by ALLOWING us to be tempted, he wants us to overcome sin and experience the feeling of victory over evil. As children of God, I believe that we all have the ability to differentiate between what's right and wrong. We just do. And it is our choice to accept or ignore the tests God has set out for us in our journey with Him.
Our perspective on situations can be so narrow, thanks for reminding me that God is always there in the big picture and I pray that we constantly look for him, especially during our troubled times! AMEN.
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