Jesus triumphs over the devil in the wilderness. Matthew 4

Jesus triumphs over the devil by using the word of God.

As Satan was tempting Jesus, I noticed a couple of things. Satan was tempting Jesus to get him off the track of his destiny. He wanted to stop the redemption plan by tempting Jesus to disobedience, because he had already tried that with the first Adam and succeeded. Satan's tactics have not changed. He is still doing that today, tempting us through the pride of life, lusts of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes.

Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan. For believers, that means some, if not most, of the challenges we will face are ordained by God for our preparation and promotion. God is growth-focused when it comes to His children. The temptation of Jesus was to reveal His true desire prior to entering into ministry. Remember, Jesus was fully human. The testing comes to reveal whether or not we are ready to step into the purposes of God for our lives.

God has no intention of losing any of us. So, He prepares and tests us for readiness. The testing comes not to hurt you, but to equip you, train you, and reveal you. What is it that you still need to work on? What character or desire of yours could lead to your demise, compromise, and the misleading of others? The testing comes to grow you.

The strategy for overcoming that Jesus revealed to us is to fight with the Sword of the Spirit, and that is the Word of God. Jesus used "it is written" to fight the legalistic devil. We have to use the Word because our accuser knows his way around the law. He is legalistic! When fighting the prosecutor and accuser of God’s children, it is essential that we know the law (Bible) and our rights as believers.

Read your Bibles, learn your rights, and what authority you have against the serpents and scorpions of this world. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:19 NKJV.

With love,

Vuyiseka, the daughter of Zion.