It is written
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ” Luke 4:4
No matter what we go through in life, whatever test or temptation we face, we are not alone. Our Savior knows and understands. It’s easy to think, “I know He cares and knows what I am going through, but understands? How could Jesus understand the test that I am experiencing right now?” Here’s the thing, Jesus was in all points tempted. Every type of temptation we could possibly come under, Jesus went through. We can see some of the things He was tempted with in the passage below.
First, the devil tempted Jesus with pride. He tried to get Him to prove who He was. Satan said, “Prove you are the Son of God by turning the stones into bread.” Next, the devil tempted Jesus to give up. Jesus was fasting, preparing for His ministry He was about to enter. Satan said, “give up this fast and turn the stones to bread.” He tried to tempt Jesus to give up on that preparation and to eat something because He was hungry right now. Thirdly, Satan appealed to Jesus’ self-worth. He tempted Jesus to jump from a great height to try to end His life early. Last of all, He tried to lure Jesus away from His ministry by showing Him all the kingdoms of the world and telling Jesus he would give Him what Jesus came to earth for in a simpler way than dying for us. He only had to bow down to Satan.
Jesus, of course, overcame all these temptations, but not because He was God’s Son. It was because He used God’s weapon, His Word (Scripture). You can defeat the enemy too by speaking God’s Word. It is the one thing that Satan hates and it will chase him away quicker than anything. So, the next time you are tempted to quit or feel less about yourself, speak the Word of God to that temptation and chase your enemy away in defeat and terror.
Today I encourage you to three things. One, be on your guard against temptation, meaning notice when temptation comes and call it what it is. Don’t justify it by making it a small thing (i.e. lying, cheating, worrying). Second, prepare scriptures ahead of time for the temptations you know that you easily give in to. Third, boldly declare the Word of God when temptation does come. You can even say it like Jesus did, “It is written” or “get away from here, Satan” before the scripture you have prepared. Don’t be overcome with evil/temptation, overcome temptation with the sword of the spirit, God’s Word.
Today’s scripture reading: Luke 4:1-13
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
10 For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’
11 and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
The Daily Dose 