Wilderness Time
What throws you off course?
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying 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 will not dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” ’ Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. - Matthew 4:1-11
A lot of things can take our attention away from what we set out to do. We may not think of them as temptations, nor do we consider them works of the devil, but they may be just as tormenting.
Of the three torments Jesus faces in the wilderness, the first is brought on by his needs. He is hungry and thirsty. We are driven by our needs, so when we lack something that is necessary for survival, we can be tempted to do whatever it takes to get it.
The second attempt to sway Jesus is an appeal to his ego. If you are who you say you are, then...
How often are we challenged to prove ourselves? When our egos are attacked, we can easily be swayed to accept the challenge, just to show up the person challenging us.
The final attempt was an assault on his desires. Look at what you can have. How important to us are the things we think we want? Look, Jesus. See all that you are giving up by choosing God in your life over worldly riches.
At times like these, when so many of the things in the world we might enjoy are shut down or inaccessible, we get a chance to reassess, to see just how important those things are to our happiness and wellbeing.
Maybe we need times like this in the wilderness to adjust and discover what is truly important.
I wonder what we will think when we come back into the world. Will we go back to our torments?
More to come...