Battle of Galatic Proportions
I should be going to sleep as it’s 3:42 AM but in the midst of being discouraged and frustrated this weekend and today, I thought I’d share something blessing from my devotions yesterday (the sun hasn’t come up yet).
Matthew 4:1-11 After Jesus was baptized, he fights w/ Satan. Two things that blessed and challenged me from this passage.
1) Jesus was led by the Spirit. Jesus had the Holy Spirit. Sorta seems weird for God to have himself or for God to lead himself. We’ve been learning from Pastor Min’s sermons about Jesus’ humanity and here, he needs to be led by the Spirit. He doesn’t automatically know what God has in store for him. He had to have a sensitive heart to what God the Father is doing and thus is led into the desert. The challenge I saw in here was is my heart soft like Jesus, that I’m being led by the Spirit. Am I walking in his ways? The destination for Jesus was hard, a confrontation with the Prince of Lies. Mine may be easy, or it may be difficult, do I have faith that I’m where the Spirit is leading?
2) Jesus fasted and prayed for forty days. Jesus didn’t fast so Satan could come and tempt him with food. He fasted and prayed because he was 100% human. He knew he was going to encounter the devil. He had to PREPARE himself to meet Satan. He didn’t just go into the desert and duke it out with the devil. Even Jesus, as 100% man, needed to prepare his heart by fasting and depending on God for the strength to stand firm. It’s amazing to think that Jesus had to prepare himself 40 days to before he met Satan. Looking at myself in light of this, I’m not Jesus, no where even close. He had to be prepared to face the temptation that were before him. All the more do I need to prepare myself to take on the challenges before me. Jesus’ humanity shows here and he shows me how to overcome. The one thing that I’ve really been getting blessed by through the sermons in Luke, leading Bible Studies in Luke, doing devotions in Matthew, is seeing Jesus’ humanity. He came down here to show us the way. Often times I get discouraged because I’m not there yet and feel like I can never get there, that I can’t be like Jesus. There is hope! Jesus was fully human and went through all the things we do and he overcame! Following in Jesus’ steps, I too can overcome. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Rev 2:7 – AMEN. Stengthen me Lord Jesus.