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Read Luke 4:1-13 every day this week. This is the account of the temptation of Jesus. Each day this week, if possible, choose a different translation and ask God to open your eyes to new revelation from His Word.
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Luke 3:21-22
“The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone.”’”
Every so often my mother complains about my dad’s lack of affection toward her. In particular she asks why he never tells her that he loves her. He has a saying that he always uses on these occasions: “I told you I loved you when we got married. If anything changes, I’ll let you know”.
Note that he used the word ‘If’. This hardly gives my mother any assurance and in fact provides a seed thought that things may change in the future. The word is ‘clothed’ in doubt and uncertainty.
In our verses today, we see the devil seeking to bring doubt about who Jesus is. Satan has always tried bring doubt into people’s minds and in the book of Genesis we see him doing that very thing: “Has God said?” He’s placing doubt whenever he possibly can.
This ploy is used on many occasions when we are faced with situations that we cannot understand. Many times I have heard the phrase “if God is all powerful, why did He allow this?” Perhaps you’ve even said this yourself. If so then I can tell you that this thought comes from the devil and is designed to affect your faith and bring doubt on who God is. It is a lie and if he can get us to doubt who Jesus is, then our faith is challenged and doubt increases.
The first temptation that the devil used was designed to meet a physical need because Jesus was hungry. He wanted Jesus to change the natural order of things. Have you ever prayed for God to change your circumstances? Perhaps you’ve thought that things would be better if you had more money, or if you had a better job or even if you didn’t have to put up with the rain and cold. Sometimes we want to bring God down to our level but all the time, God wants us to rise to His level.
There is a wonderful verse which says ‘Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’
The answer to temptation is always found in His Word: “It is written”. We are exhorted to ‘let the Word of God dwell in you’ and to that end, why not try and learn a verse of scripture every day? When temptation comes, and it will, you will have the means to overcome it, your faith will increase and God will receive the Glory.
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