40 days without nourishment – living in a vast emptiness – alone, weary, hungry, weak, easy prey for the adversary.  Jesus was about to begin His ministry as the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  No, He wasn’t being led into temptation. He was being prepared for His remaining time on earth. It was  necessary for Jesus, in His humanity, to face the slings and full quiver of arrows Satan was preparing to throw His way.

There are many beautiful lessons in this event in spite of the difficulty that went with it.  Jesus acted in humility.  He was led by the Spirit and accompanied through the ordeal with Him. (What a comforting thought for us as we face difficult times.) He defeated the devil with the use of Holy Scripture.  The devil’s goal during the temptation was to subvert God’s plan for salvation, but Jesus had other plans.

Jesus is the perfect example of how we should live our lives during adversity.  We’re going to face tests as we travel through life.  If we remember that God is by our side through them, we can be confident. By using God’s Word, we have the strength and ammunition we need to defeat Satan and his lies.

When the devil at last realized that his misuse of scripture was no match for the sovereignty of God, he left Jesus.  At that point, God, the Father sent His angels to minister unto Him.

We will never have to face the torment that our Savior did, but when faced with temptation, we have the necessary armor to repel it.  The Holy Word of God – the Bible.

Dear God, remind us that you remain steadfast through your Word.  You are all we need to defeat the power of the devil.  Amen!