Written by,
Camile Ruiz
1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
In this journey through life, it is inevitable that we, as believers, will experience seasons. These periods of time come in many forms: joyful, sorrowful, and challenging, to name a few. It is written that we must experience periods of trial or suffering: the servant is not greater than his lord (John 15:20), which means that if Christ experience persecution, we too must experience persecution. If Christ was tempted, we too must be tempted. And this brings me to the root of this discussion: temptation.
By definition, temptation simply means to have the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. Temptation is synonymous with impulse, enticement, test, and fascination. Christ was tempted after he was driven into the wilderness (Matthew 4) – and this specific scripture references some key points we must acknowledge.
First, Christ was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The wilderness, which represents a place of desolation, was a place that God specifically called Christ for a purpose He had already ordained. We might experience times in our lives where we feel like we are in a place of desolation or lacking; we feel like we are in the wilderness; yet, knowing that God, the all-knowing creator and wonderful counselor, led us into this wilderness should cause us to rejoice, because we acknowledge that He is in control and His purpose for our life is according to His perfect will.
These periods of being in the wilderness might make us feel that the path we are on is not the path God had intended for us. We might begin to question our own actions or choices in order to comprehend the situation we have been placed in and figure out a way to get out of it. But do not be discouraged, God is in control. Despite what you might have pictured your path of life to be, God never doubted his will in your life. And no turn or road that He has placed you on is by mistake or accident.
The purpose of Christ being led into the wilderness was precisely to be tempted by the devil – and it wasn’t until after Christ had been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights that he was tempted. All of the scripture was written for our learning, and this experience we witness Christ live through should provide us with a great understanding of where our minds should remain when we experience temptation: is your mind stayed on Christ?
The mind is the number one target the devil must attack because it is with the mind that we serve God. It is with the mind that we glorify God. It is with the mind that we strive together for the faith of the gospel. If the devil can alter your mind and provoke thoughts of evil, confusion, or doubt then he has control of the body – words will come out of the mouth, actions will be performed by the body. In the midst of any temptation, the most powerful and effective weapon we have is the word of God: the unchanging truth. The devil can only tell you lies because he is the father of lies and there is no truth in him. So anything that he tells you must be a lie, without a doubt. And we know that God is not a liar (Numbers 23:19), which means that He cannot go against his word: what He said must come to pass. The response that Christ gave the devil upon being tempted to reflect this concept entirely: He only responded to the devil’s temptations with the word of God. He did not respond with an opinion, or entertain the devil’s temptations by conversing with him over what he should do…he simply spoke what was already written. And in doing so, the devil had to flee; additionally, Christ was strengthened after being tempted.
So we see something beautiful happen here: a seemingly negative situation (being led into the wilderness to be placed in a state of weakness and being tempted immediately after) ends up actually being one that worked out for the good (resisting temptation and being strengthened from the situation).
James 1:12
Blessed is the man that endure the temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
The spirit of God that manifested in the flesh and dwelt among us in the form of Christ Jesus is the same spirit that dwells in us today. God has given us his Spirit, and his spirit is not the spirit of fear or doubt or confusion.
His spirit is the spirit of love and power and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). There is nothing greater than Him. No confusion from the world is greater than Him. No doubt from the world is greater than Him. No temptation from the world is greater than Him. There is peace is remembering that his spirit dwells in you, and that spirit is greater than anything that might come against it.
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