Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you,and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7)

Now this is really challenging. Satan is throwing Scripture in Jesus’ face.  However, we should not be deceived. Consider Satan’s objective. He is asking Jesus to create an unnatural situation. He is asking Jesus to jump off the top of the temple, which would mean certain death. Satan is taunting him and suggesting that Jesus should test God because certainly God would not let him be harmed.

So, Jesus rightly rebuked Satan by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16 “Do not put the Lord your God to the test (as you did at Massah).” Massah refers to the time when the Israelites were coming out of Egypt. They had been rescued out of slavery by God’s chosen deliverer Moses, then miraculously traveled through the Red Sea escaping from the Egyptians who were chasing them. Once they were safely across and had arrived at Massah, they began to complain about the lack of food and water, as though God would have rescued them only to let them starve.

Have you ever considered that our propensity to act independently without seeking God’s guidance could be a sin, that Satan might be tempting us to make an ungodly decision?  When we decide to “take a chance” and hope that God will bless our decision, are we not testing God? I know I am convicted of this as I write! I can remember far too many times when I acted on a decision, then asked God to bless it. As I ponder this Scripture, I believe that I was putting God to the test. I know that God will act as His sovereign will ordains. How many blessings do we miss by taking matters into our own hands rather than seeking His will?

In our world of constant input from a myriad of sources, it is such a challenge to sort through all the different messages we receive every day from our family, friends, authority figures in church and government, news sources, television, internet, and Facebook. How can we know what is of God and what is of Satan? Especially when many sources either quote the Bible or speak in a way that seems good and righteous. We must be discerning. Even Jesus told his disciples as he sent them on their way: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).

How can we be discerning? It is not enough to know Scripture. We must study Scripture to learn the character and attributes of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. That way we can properly apply the Scriptures to our situations in life. Even when our circumstances are dire, we do not have to resort to extreme solutions unless it is clear that God is leading us. We can wait on Him, knowing that his plans are “to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

In Christ,

Judy