Wednesday Word 1.05.2022

 

Matthew 4:1-4 NLT

4 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.’”

Temptation comes to us in more ways than we can count. We are enticed by “promise of pleasure or gain,” as Merriam-Webster puts it. It might be scrumptious, nutrition-less food. It might be just one more cocktail. It could even be ten more dollars’ worth of lottery tickets. But, there are many more forms of temptation than what might be strictly for enjoyment or to line our pockets. We might be tempted to tell that “little” lie to avoid unpleasantness. No one would ever know if we cheated just a little, or cut ahead in line, or took credit we didn’t deserve. No one would know but us and God.

We may not actually see Satan standing in front of us, daring us to do something we shouldn’t do. We may not hear his voice taunting us to serve his purposes, and serve ourselves, instead of the God Almighty we should be serving. We should be looking for God regardless of any wilderness where we may find ourselves. We need the life-giving sustenance of God’s word and teachings. Let’s resolve to listen to those words and our hearts will be filled…something to pray about.

Don’t forget to look for the Lord today. Vicki H.