Then
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the
devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During
that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell
these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The
Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that
comes from the mouth of God.’”
(Matthew 4:1-4)
My grand daughters are taking a karate class. In the class, the instructors teach them how
to fend off would be attackers by using strategically placed kicks, punches and
other maneuvers that are aimed to hurt the attacker and provide an avenues for
escape.
The Lord has given us a tool to fend off attacks from the enemy
of our souls. It’s the Word of God. In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus repeatedly used the
truth of God’s Word to silence the enemy and keep from falling into temptation.
His weapon of defense was “No! The Scriptures say….”
Now, you can’t use what you don’t know. Imagine trying to do a couple karate moves
without practicing them. You will most
likely hurt yourself instead of the attacker.
Make it a habit of memorizing the promises in God’s word,
so you are always armed with the truth on how God feels about you and all the
provisions He has made available to you, both spiritually and physically. Then, confess them out loud whenever you feel
discouraged or when you feel tempted to pursue something that is contrary to
God’s best for your life.
I find it interesting that Satan did not show up to tempt
Jesus until after he had fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and was “very
hungry.”
Satan will often come and distract us when we are weakest
and most vulnerable. It is especially important
for those times in the wilderness that we stand on the Word of God and say “No!
The Scriptures say…”
After failing to trip up Jesus, the bible says “then the
devil went away.” Satan is no match for
the Word of God. It’s our greatest
defense.
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