Wilderness

This morning I started a new devotional, and I read Luke 4:1-13 and Matthew 4:1-11. The devil came and tried to tempt Jesus. In these passages, Jesus was in the wilderness, and he had not eaten in forty days.

To me, wilderness doesn’t represent a fun place, and it may be a bumpy ride along the way. Wilderness seasons are when we must trust God because things may seem unfair, dark, or even uncertain. (We need to trust God always). The scripture also says that he hadn’t eaten in 40 days, and it was during that time that the enemy came.

I think that the enemy does the same thing to us. He may not tempt us necessarily with food(or he could). It could be you and your spouse are constantly fighting, and you both don’t see eye to eye, and you have a kind co-worker, and your mind starts to wonder what life would be like with them, and maybe you enjoy the attention they give you. Your wilderness could be that you always get passed up for a promotion at work, but then an opportunity comes your way and has more pay, but then you realize it will take you away from God. Not all good opportunities are from God.

It seems as if when we are in our lowliest of times or when things are not going right, and we’re not in a good headspace, the enemy comes for us the most. You may be fasting to get closer to God, and it seems like everyone is calling you and inviting you to go out to eat and even offering to pay for your meal, or your co-workers have decided to have a potluck, and its been like ten years since they had the last one. Everything looks appetizing, even McDonald’s, and you hate that place because you know they don’t even serve real food.

It may seem like I told you all the bad things. The enemy tries to tempt us, but Jesus has a solution. The temptation didn’t stop at being tempted. Jesus combated the enemy with God’s word. When the enemy tries to plant thoughts into your mind of unworthiness, discourages you about your appearance, or tries to remind you of your past mistakes, you have to remind him of what God’s word says. Hebrews 8:12 says, “For I will be merciful and gracious toward their wickedness, And I will remember their sins no more.” Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Find scriptures that speak to you regarding your circumstance and read God’s truth over you each day.