Just another lazy day at the lake; nothing to do, no place to go, no worries at all. I think I will relax and look at the sky; perhaps I will see an image in one of the clouds overhead if I finally manage to put all of my troubles far away from me.
Ever feel like that or want to? Beware, when you least expect it, when you are the most vulnerable, that is when Satan will attack you by making sin seem like it is something good.
I am glad that Jesus came to earth and lived the human existence because his experiences on terra firma can teach us real life lessons; here is but one of those experiences...
Matthew, Chapter 4 (World English Bible)
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’”
5 Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and,
‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.
Jesus had just fasted for a long time and the tempter knew it, so he tried to get Jesus to use his power to supply bread (vss 1-4). Sounds great, but what is fasting anyway? Isn't it a time when you deprive yourself of a basic necessity to grow closer to God. Satan wanted to destroy Jesus' closeness to the father by having our savior rely on himself rather than God above. Jesus combated the evil one by quoting the Scriptures which show that some things are more important than mere "necessities".
Following this, Satan tried to lure Jesus away from God by offering him protection from harm (vss. 5-7). Jesus saw through this veiled (and perhaps not-so-veiled) effort by once again using the Scriptures to show that Almighty God is the one who loves and protects us. To put God to the test in this manner would show a lack of trust on Jesus' part. Satan rebuffed again.
Lastly, Satan tried to lure Jesus away from God by offering him earthly power (vss. 8-11). Jesus saw what Satan was doing: If one exalts self then in a way that brings Almighty God down. God alone rules; he and he alone with worthy of worship and obedience- not Satan!!!
Satan will always try to make things seem other than they really are; to twist truth and make a falsehood seem true. Jesus overcame Satan's repeated attempts at putting a schism between him and the father by using the Scriptures to show genuine truth. Once this is done, error is easily recognizable and can be avoided.
OK, right about now, you might say to yourself- well, I do this already. Maybe you do and maybe not. It is quite easy to be led astray by something you hear or see. A good example of this is that picture of the "lake". If fact, there is no lake. Turn your head to the right and you will see that the person in the picture is actually reclining on a fallen tree.
The Scriptures say...
1 Peter, Chapter 5 (WEB)
8 Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings. (emphasis added)
Remember, if Satan has enough confidence to attack even Jesus- you and I are mere child's play to him! As verse 9 says "withstand him steadfast in your faith...". Jesus did and so can you!!!