Bible Passage: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And 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, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”” (Matthew 4:1-4)
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 8:3; Psalm 16:11; Matthew 4:1-11; Ephesians 2:8-9
Temptation.
Even though it’s an emotion we all go through, it’s hard to talk about it.
Yet, today, we’re going to talk about it.
To start, let’s clarify what we mean here.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines temptation as “the wish to do or have something that you know you should not do or have.”
I often get men coming into therapy looking for help with battling temptations, for everything from vaping to pornography. They know they want to get rid of these bad habits, but they can’t seem to find a way to sustainably resist them.
Truth be told, while I think modern psychology has some tools that can help us navigate temptation, I don’t believe there is a way to resist sin consistently other than the way of Jesus.
In Matthew 4:1-4, we see Jesus, in His humanity, battling temptation to satisfy His hunger through His own means and His own will, rather than the Father’s.
Yet, He overcame the temptation by the Word of God, recalling Deuteronomy 8:3.
In other words, Jesus overcame the enemy’s temptation by reminding Himself of God’s promise that His Word is sufficient to sustain Him. He didn’t “just say no” to the temptation of the enemy, but He filled the temptation with faith in God’s promise that His Word can satisfy His hunger.
When fighting temptation, we, as disciples of Jesus, have a secret weapon that unbelievers don’t:
The grace and promises of God.
Human discipline will only go so far. It’s a finite resource. On the other hand, the grace of God, which we receive through faith in His Word (Ephesians 2:8-9), will empower us to go further in our battle than our own strength ever could.
Like Jesus—our ultimate example of a man—we can overcome temptations to satisfy our hunger in ways we shouldn’t through faith in His promises.
For example, when we battle with temptations to satisfy our hunger for pleasure in places we shouldn’t, we can overcome the temptation through our faith that we can find fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore in His presence (Psalm 16:11).
God satisfies us more than worldly pleasures ever could. Let’s be men who seek Him first and foremost.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me greater measures of the gift of faith in the promises You reveal in Your Word, so that I can become increasingly satisfied in the fullness of who You are. As I find more and more satisfaction in Your Word and Your presence, the things of this world can no longer compare to what I have found in You. Help me replace my love for anything that’s not of You with greater love for You, Jesus. Amen.
Reflection: How do you think finding your satisfaction in Jesus can equip you to win the battle against temptation? What promises of God in His Word do you need to pull on to overcome the temptations you face in this season of your life?
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