In the dessert =)

In the Desert

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Matthew 4:1

There is no victory without a struggle. There is no breakthrough without opposition. There is no God’s way without the devil’s alternatives. It was the Spirit who led Jesus into the desert to be tested for forty days. Moses spent forty years in the desert for having murdered an Egyptian. Not until then was he mature and ready for his task.

Jesus fasted and prayed for forty days. Then Satan came forth. He came when Jesus was at His weakest. The Bible says Satan came when Jesus was hungry. To be hungry means to be weakened to the point of starvation. Yet His Spirit was strong. Jesus was tempted in spirit, soul and body. The first temptation concerned food—“Command these stones to become bread.” This was the temptation of the physical body. The second temptation concerned the will—“Throw Yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple.” This was the temptation of the soul, the temptation to take the easy way out, to work out a strategy without involving God and to stiff-necked yet claim to follow God. The third temptation concerned inner loyalty—the temptation of the spirit, the heart, to stop living for God, to swap lords along the way and to compromise in order to gain power and influence. On each of these occasions, Jesus answered Satan with a Bible verse. The only begotten Son of God responded to Satan by quoting Scripture. And Satan backed off.

There is an enormous power in the Word of God. If Jesus Himself used it, we, too, must use it. Jesus was filled with God’s Word, and whenever it was needed, the Word sprang up from His inner man. God’s Word is the sword of the Spirit, and a sword is necessary to fight off the attacks of Satan. Where Adam failed, Jesus succeeded. Where Jesus succeeded, you, too, can succeed because you are in Him and His victory is for you. The way through the desert is not the way of defeat but a journey of trials, which results in your becoming stronger than ever before. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.


PRAYER
Thank You, God, that You are in every desert and that Your grace is sufficient in every wilderness. In You I have everything I need, and Your weapons enable me to ward off every attack of the enemy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.