We all face temptation every minute of every day. The closer you are to God the harder Satan is working on you.
But, fear not! Our King Jesus has overcome the devil. Satan may try but we have Christ as our Lord and Savior.
I’m sure you have read the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:1-11). This temptation occurred right after Jesus was baptized and God said, “This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.”
You can’t get much closer to God than that. Satan saw this as his opportunity to temp Jesus. He didn’t just temp Him with whimsical things. He took Him to a very high mountain and showed Jesus the entire world. Satan promised this all to Jesus if He would worship him.
Do you realize the implication of this? He was telling Jesus that He could command the world. You ask, doesn’t Jesus control the world already? With the fall of man, Satan became the prince of the world. He has free reign here to tempt us in every way.
What Satan was telling Jesus was that he would relinquish control of our minds to Jesus. This would be wonderful. Jesus would not have to suffer the cross. Everyone would worship Him.
Do you see the fallacy in this? We would become mindless robots. We would no longer have a choice. That is why Jesus overcame this temptation even though it meant He would have to endure the humiliation, suffering and death of the cross.
The next time you feel Satan tempting you, think of the sacrifice of Jesus. Think of what He endured to keep you in His Kingdom. We are truly blessed. We can overcome any temptation through the grace and love of Christ. Thank You, Jesus!
