“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (Matthew 4:1-2).

Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. In last week’s devotional, the topic was testing; today we will talk about temptation. Understand that temptation is not the same as testing in the biblical sense. Temptation comes from the devil, and it is for our harm. Testing is from God, and it is for our good. So, you may ask, why would a good God who is all-powerful allow us to be tempted? It all goes back to the Fall, when Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lies rather than God’s truth. The consequences have been severe. Our world is corrupted, and we are corrupted. Even when we accept Christ as our Savior, as long as we live in this fallen world we will continue to be subjected to temptation. But remember is not God who tempts us. As James writes, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed” (James 1:13-14).

This does not fully answer the question of why, though, does it? For that, we need to continue to explore the Word of God, and the answer comes in observing Christ in the wilderness. As the verse above states: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” This event was an intentional and critical time in the life and ministry of Christ to prove his power over the devil. In the same way, God allows temptation to occur in our fallen world so that we can learn to be like Christ. Learning to overcome temptation is part of our maturing process, preparing us for ministry.

Although God allows us to be tempted, he does not leave us alone in our temptation. As the Apostle Paul writes: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

So, I think I know what you are thinking, because it is what I am thinking. This is all well and good, but unlike Christ, I have not been 100% effective in overcoming temptation. He is sinless. I am not. I have veered off the path and made some pretty bad decisions in my day. And that does not take into account all my daily actions, thoughts and words that are not Christ-like. So, what does this mean for my maturity and ministry, and yours?

Praise God that Jesus was sensitive to the fact that we are not perfect, and he gives us guidance.

• Jesus advises in the Lord’s prayer to pray to God: “do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13).
• He also advised us to remain diligent:“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

But because we will not be 100% perfect until we achieve our glorified state after our physical death, God has been gracious to provide for us a way through the mess we sometimes make of our lives.

• Speaking through the Apostle Paul, we know that “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
• And we know that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
• “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
• All we must do is to accept, believe, and receive what Jesus did for us. “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

This is the good news of the Gospel that believers celebrate all year long, but especially during Easter. Jesus Christ died for us, and his death paid the price of our sins. And we can rest assured that no matter how we fall short, we are overcomers through Christ. Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

In Christ,

Judy