When he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”   Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV

Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, after he was hungry.  Matthew 4:1-2 NKJV

I have told you before that I cringe when someone gets baptized. Why? Because I know that this is when their battle begins. Our first scripture passage tells of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. What a glorious picture it paints of Jesus coming out of the water and the heavens opening up and the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and confirming that Jesus is His son and saying how pleased He is with Him. What an awesome picture!

But this scripture passage is immediately followed by the passage that tells us that Jesus was led up into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. It is often said that we are most susceptible to temptation when we are hungry, angry, lonely or tired or all of the above. We are told that Jesus was hungry after fasting for 40 days, no surprise there. I would imagine that being in the wilderness for 40 days would be tiring. He was alone and no doubt lonely after being by himself for 40 days. And I would imagine that he was angered by the things that the devil was saying to Him.

The rest of us mere mortals are also subjected to temptation once we commit our lives to Jesus. This is where the battle for our soul begins. Now if we stay close to the Lord and stay in His word, we are going to come through with flying colors. But, beware, the devil will try to distract us. He will do his best to deceive us. We must be careful here. As Christians, we must also help those baby Christians as they go through times of temptation and through struggles. We must be there for them to mentor them.

Every time the devil came against Jesus, Jesus responded with, “It is written,”. Now the last thing we often think of doing when we are angry is responding with God’s word, which is also referred to asthe sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). We are told in Hebrews 4:12 that it is quick, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through soul and spirit, joints and marrow, discerning thoughts and intents of the heart. But, if we haven’t studied our Bible then we have no sword. If you want to stop the devil from tempting you by quoting scripture, you need to know scripture, right? I’ve said many times before I’ve used it and it works. You don’t have to take my word for it, try it for yourself.

Remember when the devil comes against you to see it for what it is, temptation and spiritual attack. He is trying to goad  you into doing something that will cause you to destroy your witness. He is trying to drag you down to his level. Whatever you do, don’t go there. Stop, think, pray, and ask God to give you the words to say that will stop the devil in his tracks.

I pray that you have a few swords saved up in your arsenal and are ready to deploy them if necessary. I also pray that you don’t fall prey to the devil and his schemes. If you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired, halt-don’t go there. Stop before you do something you will regret. Know that the Lord is right there with you and wants to help you in any situation you are facing. Trust in Him and don’t rely on your own understanding, allow Him to guide you in all that you do (Proverbs 3:5-6).

When the dust has settled, you will either be filled with joy or regret depending on how you handled the situation. The devil is trying to lead you down a slippery slope. Don’t go there.

We are told not to fear in Isaiah 41:10 for God has promised to get us through the tough times. He tells us that He will uphold us with His righteous hand. Stay in close relationship with God through Bible study and prayer and you will be able to overcome temptations and distractions that come your way.
Have a great day!