Wandering off the Path

While walking my ferret, Duke, I have noticed something that has given me a wonderful idea for a blog post. We always walk along a well-laid path. Duke sometimes stays on the path and sometimes he wanders off. When he stays on the path his walk is effortless, with no hassles. When he wanders off the path he encounters difficult terrain; difficult for a little guy with only 2 inch legs.

Duke will wander off the path into the tall green grass and rub his scent glands (which are on his shoulders) on the stalks of the grass to mark his territory. He repeats this process all over the place until he is completely lost. He will lift his head up as high as his neck will allow but he can't see anything past what is right in front of him. Once he is lost in the tall grass he also encounters the odd thistle which is very unpleasant. He also wakes up the mosquitoes that are sitting in the tall grass and they begin to bite. Duke tries to find his own way out of the tall grass and back to the path but no matter how hard he tries he just seems to get further and further away from the path. Duke is lucky that I am standing there watching over him as I gently guide him back to the path where he, once again, resumes his walk.

It reminds me of my walk with Jesus. When I became born-again God showed me a new path, one that is narrow but leads to eternity. Up until my early 30s I was making my own path; living my life my way. I was causing myself a lot of heartache along the way. I am not saying that once you become a born-again Christian you will no longer have trouble, because the Bible says otherwise. What I am saying is that when you do decide to give your life over to God and let him sit in the driver's seat, you will have a lasting peace and joy that you cannot find any other way. When I was living my life my way I would often get myself into trouble. I could not see past the problem that was right in front of me and I would feel absolutely overwhelmed. Now that I have a beautiful relationship with my Heavenly Father, when trials come my way they are no longer the main focus of my thoughts. I know that I can look to my Heavenly Father for guidance and direction and He always comes through for me.

Sometimes we, as Christians, can find that we have wandered off the path, but as soon as we realize we have lost our way and ask our Heavenly Father for help He gently and lovingly guides us back to the path. Sometimes you can start off by making one wrong move or bad decision which then leads to another wrong move or bad decision and before you know it you are in trouble way over your head just like the tall grass Duke gets lost in. So much so that you cannot imagine how you are ever going to get through it. That is when you need to realize that you were in the driver's seat again and you need to let God take over and steer you back in the right direciton.

Duke would wander off the path, rub shoulders with the blades of grass and end up lost. This represents temptation. Something you know is wrong but looks so enticing. You begin to convince yourself that just this once won't hurt or just a little bit won't hurt and before you know it you have wandered off the path. The thistles in the tall grass which Duke encounters represent sin and temptation which try to ensnare us. The mosquitoes Duke encounters when he wanders off the path represent satan and his evil plans to suck the life and joy out of you.

Matthew 7:13,14 (NIV)
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Proverbs 4:11 (New Century Version)

I am guiding you in the way of wisdom, and I am leading you on the right path.

Why was Jesus tempted after being baptized?

December 12, 2007

Matthew 4:1-11

Have you ever wondered why Jesus, after being baptized by John, was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil? Notice that the devil does not even begin tempting Jesus until he has been without food for 40 days and 40 nights? That would make Jesus a very hungry man.

I believe that is very similar to the temptations we face today. The devil waits until we are in a desperately hungry place in our hearts, whether we are feeling extremely lonely, extremely angry, extremely rejected or hurt. Whatever it is in our circumstances, you can pretty much guarantee that the devil will notice our weak and vulnerable position and take full advantage of it by bringing something extremely tempting into our line of sight or train of thought.

When the devil begins tempting Jesus, he tells Jesus to turn the stones into bread so he can eat since he is so hungry. Jesus responds by quoting from the Word of God (out loud), "It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Notice how Jesus uses the Word of God against the devil's schemes. The bible says,(NIV) Ephesians 6:11,12,

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

The quote he responded with is so true. I like the way my sons bible phrases it:

"People need more than bread for their life, they must feed on every word of God."

In order for us to be able to resist the devil as Jesus did, we need to be very familiar with the Word of God. How do we do this? By reading His Word daily, by setting aside quiet time each day to read His Word. Many of you are saying, "I am just too busy to have time to read the bible." If Jesus were standing in front of you right now asking you to spend time with him each day, would you still be too busy? Your priorities will be clear in the way you choose to spend your time, and yes it is a choice. If you have troubles understanding the bible when you read it, then perhaps consider buying a different translation that will make it easier for you to understand. The New Living Translation is my sons bible and it is written in very easy to understand, modern English. Also, pray and ask the Lord to help you understand what you are about to read.

Once you begin to read His Word daily, you will begin to notice that He will speak to you very clearly through his Word. Some days you will read a verse or several verses that are exactly what you needed to hear at that very moment. Other days you will be reading His Word and you will be feeling conviction over something you now know you have to make right.

When you first start setting aside some time to read His word, it may feel like a chore. Do it anyway! After awhile, I promise you, you will begin to look forward to that quiet time you spend with God in His Word. You will begin to crave it, need it.

When the devil comes a knocking to tempt you (and he will) whilst you are in your "desert", you will be equipped. (NIV) Ephesians 6:13-18 says,

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."

Don't be fooled into believing that the devil does not tempt people like that these days. The devil and his army are still very active. Three times the devil tempted Jesus in that desert and three times Jesus responded by quoting scripture. After the third time, the devil left. I feel like I also need to point out in Luke 4:13, which says,

"When the Devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came." The devil won't just try to tempt you one, two or three times. He will take advantage of every opportunity he can find. Not to worry though, keep reading and you will find out why you need only to be alert rather than worried.

The scripture says in (NIV) James 4:7

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

That is exactly what he did with Jesus in the desert and that is exactly what he will do with you if you use the full armor of God. I can tell you from my own personal experience right now, my desert is called "loneliness." I grew up needing affirmation and attention from my father, but not getting it, which led me to the devil's cheap alternative. That was by getting attention from boys. I became a boy crazy teenage girl. I then married a man who also did not give me the affirmation and attention I so badly craved. Then my husband left me and I was all alone.

Until that point in my life, I always looked to a man to provide me with my value, my self-worth, my reason for living, my joy, etc. If I was not in love with Jesus now and if I was not allowing Him to fill up my need for love, self-worth and value, then I would most certainly be resorting back to my old way of life, which was getting attention from a man.

This "desert of loneliness" has been teaching me how to lean on God in a much more personal way. It has taught me to run to him with all of my needs. And you know what, he meets all of them. There is still, of course, the desire to have a companion to share my life with. I believe when I make it through this desert of "loneliness" and learn the lessons that God wants me to learn, he will provide me with a suitable companion. As any loving father is, he will be sure that this suitable companion will meet his standards and have his blessing.

In the meantime, and I am speaking from personal experience here, the devil is busy trying to tempt me. He knows my weakness is "loneliness." He knows how I used to fill up that need and he is constantly scheming up ways to provide his cheap alternative in the form of inappropriate male temptation. I run to Jesus, and I run to his Word and He helps me. I put on the full armor of God and the devil flees from me.

I believe Jesus was tempted in the desert for two main reasons:

1. So Jesus would show us how to resist the devil's temptations.
   
2. So Jesus would understand what temptation feels like so he would better understand our struggle.