In our journey to live a life in faith, we encounter trials that test our faith.
The suffering we encounter in our life leads us to empty deserts in our hearts where separation from God can begin and we need to watch out for this.
In Matthew 4 -- "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the desert to be put to the test by the devil."
The passage points to a character of God that leads even his only son to a place of temptation. But notice that He is not the one doing the tempting but rather it is the devil. This is a fascinating point to connect with The Lord's Prayer -- "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil"
Now let's go back to what Jesus does to survive the temptations from the devil.
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the desert to be put to the test by the devil.
2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which he was hungry,
3 and the tester came and said to him, 'If you are Son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves.'
4 But he replied, 'Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'
5 The devil then took him to the holy city and set him on the parapet of the Temple.
6 'If you are Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down; for scripture says: He has given his angels orders about you, and they will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone.'
7 Jesus said to him, 'Scripture also says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'
8 Next, taking him to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.
9 And he said to him, 'I will give you all these, if you fall at my feet and do me homage.'
10 Then Jesus replied, 'Away with you, Satan! For scripture says: The Lord your God is the one to whom you must do homage, him alone you must serve.'
11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels appeared and looked after him.
Notice how the devil quotes scripture right after Jesus proclaims that human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Yet, Jesus does not fall into this trap!
Let us learn from this... and contemplate where we are being led by God to the desert places in our faith journey to be tested by the devil.
