Overcome

Mark 1:12-13 At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
 
PERHAPS you had begun a new job or graduated from long years of study. You were excited and feeling well-prepared for the work. Maybe you planned for years to begin a business or a particular ministry. Then the time arrived. You were sure you could respond to any challenge you would encounter. But something happened. You faced difficulties far beyond what you had foreseen. You didn’t realize things would be so difficult! Did you wonder if you had made the correct decisions?
   Do you think this was the way Jesus as fully man, fully God, responded to his desert trial? Jesus had grown into manhood about his Father’s business (Luke 2:49). At last, the Father and the Spirit anointed the Son to do the work of God in the world. But his first task is not to preach and to save. Instead, he is to confront and to defy the devil. In a very hot, desolate area, God’s Son encountered life-threatening physical deprivation. Other gospels record he was in the desert 40 days with no food or water. No mere mortal could survive.
   And we also noted the Father had just said he was well pleased with his Son. Do you think a loving Father would direct Jesus to suffer this most severe test? The Father knew the devil was desperate to turn Jesus from his Father and his mission. He knew Jesus’ success meant his doom. Had the Father jeopardized his promised salvation plan?
   This test teaches us several things about God. One lesson is the power of God’s Word to lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:13). Jesus, the Word who became flesh (John 1:14) resisted evil with the truth of God’s Word. In response to the devil’s three temptations, Jesus said, “It is written.” (See Matthew 4 and Luke 4.) Then he quoted a Scripture to silence Satan. Defining God’s law against sin, Jesus triumphed. The spoken Word is truly the unassailable sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) to cut away temptation. The Father was well pleased with the Son because he had decreed Jesus had come to save. Jesus’ test teaches us how to respond to trials. Our relationship with God remains intact when we respond to all circumstances with, “It is written.”
   It is also important to note that even though Jesus was with the wild animals, the angels attended him. God did not leave his Son alone. When God sends us into a test, his power is always with us when we hold true to  his Word.
   Where are your struggles and temptations? Do you feel the Holy Spirit has sent you to a test, even to destruction? Does Satan tempt you to worship and accept his lies? Then go to God’s Word to find his truth and gather your strength. You are not in the “desert” alone. Pray to the Spirit to anoint you with wisdom, and he will refresh you. You will be prepared to resist temptation and to know God’s steadfast help in the unexpected hard times.
 
Revelation 17:14 “They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is LORD of lords and King of kings – and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”