Luke 4:1-2
Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry.”

Knott’s Berry Farm. Middle of August. 97 degrees and fairly humid.

I went to the amusement park and experienced one of the most incredible marketing tactics that day. I had been in line with my younger brother for one of the more popular rides, which was fairly crowded. It was such a hot day and we had been standing for so long that when the employee with the water cart came rolling around the corner selling $5 bottles of water… I toiled with spending the ridiculous amount of money for a simple bottle of water.

Did it work? Of course, it did!!! I totally bought the dang thing even though it was expensive. I gave in to the temptation!

Jesus had been in the hot, dry and treacherous desert for 40 days. You can imagine how hungry, thirsty and exhausted He must have been. Since Jesus was extremely hungry, it was only fitting for the Enemy to tempt Him to turn stones into bread. However, Jesus refused to give in to the tempter. He knew that His obligation to please the Father was more important than pleasing His flesh. 

Jesus was hungry, so the Enemy tempted Him with food. The Enemy knows our weaknesses, so it only makes sense for him to tempt us with the things that we desire.

How do we fight back and avoid falling into temptations?

  1. Pray. Ask God to protect your heart and mind from the schemes of the enemy. Also, ask Him to give you the strength and faith to walk away from temptation when it comes your way.
  2. Know your weaknesses and be ready to combat the Enemy in those areas before he ever tempts you. Today, start memorizing Scripture that applies to the things you struggle with. Your one will have a hard time listening to you if your lifestyle doesn’t look any different than theirs.