relationships (Matthew 4:1-11) Opportunities to Draw Closer

(Matthew 4:1-11)

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written:

     ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’; 

and

     ‘On their hands they will lift You up,
     So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil took Him along to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.

TODAY'S TAKEAWAY

It is important to know that it is not a sin to be tempted, otherwise it could not be said that Jesus was sinless.  So, here is one of the reasons why Jesus went through this time in the wilderness...

(Hebrews 4:14-16) Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.

There will definitely be times when we go through "wildernesses".  Sometimes we will be experiencing consequences of our own sinful choices.  And/or sometimes we will be experiencing consequences of other people's sinful choices.  And/or sometimes things will happen just because we live in a sinful, fallen world.  And/or sometimes things are happening because there is spiritual warfare.  But no matter the reason, God has allowed these things to happen in our lives, therefore, always view these as opportunities to depend on the Lord more, and grow closer to Him in our personal relationship.  As well, realize that these are awesome opportunities to see how the Lord will work things out in a mighty way, to His glory!

Whatever the challenge, in mankind's point of view, it will not be fun.  But whatever it is that we are going through, it always benefits us to first make sure that we do not have any unconfessed sin/s in our life.  Even when things are going well, this is beneficial!  While it is not a sin to be tempted, if we dwell on the temptations with any sort of lust or craving, this becomes a sin.  Or if we don't go to the Lord with our struggles, and try to deal with it on our own, we will get ourselves into trouble.  Or if we become angry at the Lord, this will pull us away from God.  And all of this - is exactly what Satan wants.  This is why it is good to confess our sins along the way.

We really don't need to know or understand all of Satan's strategies, except that he is the father of lies (John 8:44).  Because Satan's gameplan is to do whatever he can to keep us away from the Lord and His blessings, we need to do the opposite, and run to the Lord for His help.  In order to recognize lies, we need to know Truth!  Therefore, studying and knowing God's word is so very important, not just to recognize lies, but to see what God's will is, and what He wants us to do.  To live on God's word as our bread of life, is how we eat several times a day, because we need to nourish and strengthen our hearts, daily!

Prayer is also vital.  Like with any relationship, there should be two-way communication.  Always, anytime, all of the time, talk to the Lord and let Him know how we are feeling, what we are thinking, and ask Him questions, and ask for His help, strength, love, peace, joy...  Then, patiently wait on the Lord, and know that we always have the indwelling Holy Spirit with us, to strengthen us and guide us.  Don't get impatient and think that we can quickly solve something for the Lord.  Know that the Lord wants to solve our issues for us, in His timing, and in His way.

As well, we must continue going to church, Bible study, and meeting up with other mature Christians who can equip and encourage us, and pray for us.  Just observe one more time where Satan tempted Jesus.  He was alone - in the wilderness!  Even if we live in a city with millions of people, it is so very easy for us to isolate ourselves, and that is a very precarious position to put ourselves into.  But we will see in tomorrow's devotion that Jesus didn't stay in the wilderness!  Being the God of relationships, He went to where the people were, to call believers to Himself, to mentor and disciple and strengthen, in order to spread the good news, in order to draw others to Himself n a close, personal relationship!!!