WATCHWORD:
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” 7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Matthew 4:1-7
Meditation:
Putting God to the Test
Have you put God to the test? Or maybe you made a bargain with God. You know, God if you’ll do this, I’ll do that or I’ll never miss another Sunday or I’ll never asked for another thing. Have you ever done any of that?
Satan was trying to make a bargain with Jesus, saying tell these stones to become loaves of bread. Jesus counters with, People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
That bargain, you were trying to make with God? How would Jesus respond? I think the request would be met by a lesson on understanding God’s Word and apply it. In all likelihood, you would not get you wish, but you would emerge much richer and stronger in your Faith.
There comes a time in every crisis in our lives where we really want to try to bargain our way out of it. We do want to trust Jesus and follow his admonition not to worry, but there’s a part of us that wants to control the situation and deal with it, now. We like to worry. If there is not enough worry in today, we pull up yesterday’s, or we borrow it from tomorrow. Could we be obsessed with worry? Surely, not. But I worry about it. Gad!
Have you ever thought about this; that the adversities in our lives are first confronted and dealt with in the secret places of our will, in God’s presence. We cannot experience the bad things in our lives on our own for God is always with us. In the ravages of grief, or disappointment, or sadness, or not getting what we want, we too often forget that He is right here, with us. We forget that he is the one that said, I am with you till the end. What do you think he meant by that?
Oswald Chambers tells us that in the midst of our battles, our troubles, our loss, that takes place in God’s presence, we fight that battle before Him. “The battle might take the blink of an eye or a year or more, but that would depend on me, not on God. I must wrestle with the battle alone before God and I must resolve to go through the rejection before him. Nothing has any power over someone who has fought the battle before God and won there.”
You know, I think, too often, we turn to God as a last resort. It’s when we are deep in misery and don’t know what to do or where to go, we desperately call out, “Help me Jesus!” How about Jesus as a First Resort? Just a thought. So be it.
Bulletin Board:
Smith climbs to the top of Mt. Sinai to get close enough to talk to God. Looking up, he asks the Lord, “God, what does a million years mean to you?” The Lord replies, “A minute.”
Smith asks, “And what does a million dollars mean to! you?” The Lord replies, “A penny.
“Smith asks,” Can I have a penny?” The Lord replies, “In a minute”.
Closing Prayer:
Father God I pray that during those times when the enemy is “sifting” us, that we will stand on your word. I pray that our faith also would not fail us, and that every trial and every tribulation would serve to make us stronger in our faith. We may be a blessing to our brothers and sisters in Christ, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.
