Faith

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“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him…Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Matthew 4:8-10.

Yesterday we peeked into the desert and saw the interaction between the serpent and the Savior. We watched how Satan used Jesus’ vulnerability of hunger as a form of temptation. We saw how Satan took Jesus to the highest point and dared Him to jump. Finally, we saw the most alluring temptation of all…power…prestige…everything God promised Jesus, just earlier than God intended. I can just hear Satan now as he is so good at what he does in temptation. ‘Come on Jesus…you know God has already told you it is yours! You know He has promised it to you so what is the big deal…just reach out and grab what has already been promised. Satan will always tempt us on the highest mountain…that dream in our minds and heart. The reason the mountain was so high was because the price Jesus would have paid was so high. He would have lost the very thing He came to gain.

One of the most dangerous things we can ever do is act on a promise before God is ready to give it to us. Whether it is a relationship, a ministry, a job or a child, we cannot give into the temptation of grabbing it before the appointed time. God will not bless our efforts if we do not silence. It was only when Jesus stood face to face and commanded Satan to withdraw, reminding him that His life was about worship and service to God. The blessing that followed Jesus’ courage and bold affirmation was the sweetest blessing ever…the same blessing afforded to you and to me. ‘Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.’ Matthew 4:11. It is the greatest scene ever written. It is not the scene out of some childhood Bible but the reality of a man who was parched and starving. It was how one man looked beyond His circumstances of fear and weakness, focusing on God. It was a man who in His weakness took on God’s strength through words, standing against temptation in the face of gaining everything. The angels came when the devil departed, and the devil left at the insistence of Jesus. Jesus was still that hungry and parched man but every need was met by the angels of God. We too are the beneficiaries of the hands of angels.

‘Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?’ Hebrews 1:14.

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