4: 1-13 After returning from being baptized by John, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit then led him into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil for forty days. During that time, Jesus had nothing to eat and became very hungry. The devil knew this and tempted him saying “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” The devil tested Jesus at his weakest point physically – hunger. The devil tried to bait Jesus into satisfying his extreme hunger by exercising his divine powers by turning a stone into a loaf of bread, as was done by God to the Israelites when they were in the woods for forty years. Jesus knew that he was sent to suffer and patiently endure hardship as an obedient human waiting for God’s deliverance and empowerment.
Jesus replied, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’” Jesus answered the devil using the written word of God from the Old Testament, or the law that was given to the Jews by God up until that time. At that time, when the people of Israel were in the woods for forty years, their needs were being met physically through manna (bread) and spiritually by the presence and the Word of God. Unfortunately, the people from Israel failed their test of faith before God. Jesus passed this test. The filling and leading of the Spirit are key aspects of empowerment for those who follow Christ.
The devil tested Jesus a second time. He took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world and said, “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them, because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.” As Messiah, Jesus will rule over all these kingdoms when the world comes to an end. The devil tried to persuade Jesus to obtain that right now, and not have to wait. Even though the devil is called the ruler of this world, the world was not turned over to him and he can’t give it to anyone he wants.
Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” Jesus quoted what is written in Deuteronomy 6:13, again using God’s words to make it clear that only God can be worshipped, not the devil.
The devil caught on that Jesus was quoting God’s word from the Old Testament in his responses, so tried to trick him by quoting from God’s word as well. The devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, up to the highest point of the Temple and said, “If you are the Son of God jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” The devil was quoting what is written in Psalm 91: 11-12, stating that if Jesus jumped, the angels would rush to his rescue.
Jesus replied, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Jesus did not deny what the devil quoted, just in how he applied it. He cited Deuteronomy 6:16 which tells about Israel’s complaining and testing of God as they made their way through the wilderness.
“When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.” This implies that there may have been more tests. The devil left defeated; however, not for good. He awaited for the right time to try again.
After Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he was filled with God’s spirit (as we all are). The Spirit led him into the wilderness and allowed the devil to tempt him for 40 days. I have felt the Spirit in me and directing me for a good portion of my life. When I am still and listen, it is amazing! That doesn’t happen often though. I can get so caught up in life, that that mutes God’s voice and over time, I am not able to hear him anymore and I have gone off on my own, doing things “my” way. This compounds with each hour and each day and then suddenly, something happens. I don’t feel well, or I get bad news or some life challenge that really gets my attention. I try to barrel through it and then another one comes. At some point, they wear me down and I find myself “stuck,” and unable to move forward anymore. I sit at my desk and look at all that I need to do. It seems overwhelming. When I’m stuck, things start to pile up, or the house seems to get dirtier by the day. It then feels like what may have been easy to do when things were little, when there were 10 items to do and now there are 50, or when the floor “looked” clean, but I know it needed to be mopped and now there is animal fur and other items that I can see all over the floor and now it seems like a whole days project to clean as opposed to what would have been 30 minutes mopping the floor. This happens in so many different areas – work, the house, food, time with friends, other obligations – and then the other life challenges – the bad news, technology changes, bills that are due, funds that are not in the account to pay them, letters and calls from creditors, animals are sick and need to go to the vet, someone in the house, or I, am not feeling well – and it spirals.
I lost my quiet time with God and can’t hear him anymore. I now have quiet time, but it’s filled with anxiety. I have lost my “filling and leading of the Spirit,” and that is what I need. I know it will help if I open up my Bible and start reading it, but it seems that I should be doing other things. I have made other things more important than reading God’s word and spending time with God. I open up the Bible and start to read. I get through a few paragraphs and the phone rings, or someone needs something, or an animal knocks something over, or I’m suddenly very hungry. I stop . . . and that’s OK. Because I read a few paragraphs. I tried again a few hours later and read 1/2 a page. Then the life distractions happen again . . . and that’s OK. Because I read 1/2 a page. I wake up the next morning and it’s quiet. I know I need to get things done but make a commitment to myself to read the Bible for 30 minutes before doing anything. I make some hot tea, water and toast. I sit down and read. 20 minutes go by, and I read one page . . . and that’s OK, because I read one page. It is nice outside, so I go outside barefoot and, in my PJ’s, and feel the warmth of the sun and smell the air. I feel the grass under my feet. There is a nice breeze. I think about what I read for a few minutes. I can hear God talking to me again and leading me. I so miss this. This continues for a few more days and I can’t explain it but starting out my day reading a page or so of the Bible helps me to stay a little more focused throughout the day. I still have my moments, but they are less and less. After a week, I am feeling much better! The balance is coming back! Another week goes by, and things are going pretty well! I’m still reading the Bible in the morning. I took a day off to focus on cleaning one part of the house and to have lunch with a friend. Over the next few days, I am still reading in the morning and finding some time throughout the day to work on things around the house that I have wanted to get to. I find that I’m more focused at work and am getting things done, which seems weird because there is less time now with reading the Bible, and doing a few things around the house, or going for a walk . . . but I’m getting more done, and it does not seem so heavy anymore! Life is awesome!
In the afternoon, I get some bad news. I handle it well. The Spirit is still in me, I’m still reading the Bible. It knocks me down for a little bit, but the Spirit in me lifts me back up. I go to my car to meet a friend for lunch and my tire is flat. I’m bummed, but I call my friend and she says she can meet later in the day. I have the funds to replace the tire. They tell me another tire needs to be replaced as well. It will be a little tighter financially, but my safety is important, so I give them the OK to replace the tire. It feels great riding home. I am so glad I had the funds to replace both tires! I get home and it smells funny. One of the animals has used the bathroom in the house. I clean it up. I’m hungry, but don’t feel like going back out. There is not much in the refrigerator to eat. I need to go shopping. Hopefully I can wait a few more days because I just spent money on the tires and did not have enough money for those and my weekly grocery shopping. With all the business of the day, I completely forgot about eating with my friend. I called her to reschedule for another day. I’m wiped. Tomorrow I will go out and get a few groceries to tie me over until I get paid. I eat what I can find for now. It’s not the healthiest, but it’s food. I sit on the couch and watch TV until it is time to go to bed.
The next morning, I wake up and get right to work. I need to bring in some money to buy groceries and for bills that will be coming due soon. I plow through work and forget to eat. I’m now starving, and the animals are letting me know they are hungry too. I’m running out of pet food as well, so give them all that’s there. I eat what I can find again. I’m tired, so I sit down and watch some TV, or scroll through my phone. I got some more bad news. It really upsets me. I can’t focus. More bills are in the mail. Funds are now low again, and I’m hungry. I’ve stopped reading the Bible but will start back tomorrow. Things are on fire at work, and I need to get things done. I have not done much around the house and it’s starting to look dirty again. I’m hungry and there is nothing good to eat – and I don’t have enough to go to the store for groceries. I spent all I had on pet food as they needed to eat. People are calling and emailing me wanting to hang out or go to lunch. Don’t they know what I’m going through? I can’t right now. I’m tired. I’m hungry. I don’t feel well. I got on the scale, and I have gained 2 pounds. Uuuggghh! I’m stuck again and angry. Why does this keep happening? . . . I’ve lost my quiet time with God. I can’t hear him anymore.
It’s a cycle – and one that plays over and over in my life. The only way to stop it for me, has been to prioritize the quiet time with God – every day – no matter what. It is hard though, when life happens. It comes quickly, and without warning. I have to be able to recognize it and catch it when I see it happening – and that is VERY HARD to do!
I think about the temptations that Jesus faced by the devil. Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and was very hungry. The devil tried to get Jesus to turn a stone into bread to satisfy his hunger, testing Jesus at the point of his physical weakness – hunger. I would have caved in. I am not that strong. Jesus told him “No!” and quoted scripture saying “People do not live by bread alone.” How in the world could he do that? I can barely say no to something sweet – even after I have eaten and am full! He had not eaten for 40 days. How did he have the strength to resist? After he was baptized by John the Baptist and went into the woods for 40 days without food, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit working within him. I don’t know what he did during those 40 days, other than be tempted by the devil, but can guess that he had some amazing quiet time with God and the Holy Spirit in him and guiding him kept him strong.
Jesus knew that he was sent to suffer and patiently endure hardship as an obedient human waiting for God’s deliverance and empowerment. I’m not a perfectly obedient human though. But I know that the devil is tempting me just the same. He tries to wear me down by giving me one challenge after another. When I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I can walk with God through the challenges, but the devil just keeps throwing challenges my way and as small as they may seem sometimes, when they begin piling up on top of one another, they wear me down and I can’t hear or feel God with me anymore. I have replaced God’s voice with the devil’s temptations, which spirals me into being stuck.
The devil then showed him all the kingdoms and told him he would transfer his authority over all of them, over to Jesus if he worshipped him. Jesus replied again using Scripture, “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” Jesus was so good at quoting scripture. I have a hard time remembering half of what I read, much less quote anything. The devil tried to persuade Jesus with a shortcut to obtain the kingdoms of the world right now, and not have to wait.
If the devil can’t win one way, he will keep trying until he finds our weaknesses. When I am stressed, I eat. It is the only thing at times that I feel I can control when my life seems out of control. This is a false sense of control though. What am I doing when I reach for food when I’m stressed? I’m certainly not reaching for healthy food. No – I want something sweet. I want carbs – and don’t give me the low-fat stuff. I want full fat – full calories. This is also the devil having his way with me, making me think that I am in control when I feed my stress. In actuality, I am hurting myself and getting off balance so that I can’t hear the Holy Spirit anymore that’s inside of me. The devil is lying to me about control – and I’m believing it as I try to eat my stress away.
The devil then tempts Jesus a third time. He takes him to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem and tries to coerce him to jump, this time using Scripture as Jesus has done, saying “He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands, so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.'” Jesus tells the devil, “You must not test the Lord your God.'” The devil made it sound like the angels would rush to the rescue if Jesus jumped, so he would be OK. After all, it says that in the Bible, so it must be right. The scripture was not wrong, and Jesus did not deny it. The devil’s application of that scripture was wrong though. Jesus’s response recalls how the people of Israel complained and tested God while they were in the wilderness.
I love my kids, but they test me, heck, my animals test me – and I fail a lot! They just keep coming at things from a different direction, or for the animals, they do things over and over until I break. The devil has fun with me as well. He just keeps on trying, over and over again, until I break. When I break, I do things that are not healthy for me physically, energetically or spiritually. God has given me so much and I need to be thankful for what I have. When challenges come along, my initial reaction is anger, frustration and pain. These feelings can take away from all the good that is in my life and can have me going through life with blinders on, not appreciating what I have. This is another way the devil can get to me and have me lose my quiet time and focus with God. Out of frustration, anger and disappointment, I will begin making decisions on my own, instead of talking with God about them. My focus is distorted by my feelings.
“When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.” The devil departed from Jesus only to wait for the right time to try again. It’s going to happen. What keeps us from being stuck is focusing on the Holy Spirit that is in us as we are met with a life challenge, something that irritates us, something that does not go our way. It is hard, but by giving into the devil, we sacrifice our well-being, our health – physically, emotionally and spiritually.
I watched the movie “The War Room.” In the movie, the woman goes through some very challenging times. She meets with another woman who teaches her how to pray (the war room) and what to do when the devil is all over you and winning. I have started doing this as well and it really helps. I have shared it with others as well. When I feel off center, or am in the midst of life challenges, when I feel food calling me, when I “feel” the stress, to say “I am a child of God. I belong to God. Devil, go away! NOW! You are not welcome here.” I’ve been told it is important to do this out loud as only God can hear what’s in our minds. I have started doing this as well, just much, much quieter when others are around.