Tempted

" At that time, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.  He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards He was hungry. The tempter approached Him, 'If You are the Son of God, command these stones become loaves of bread.' He said in reply, 'It is written: One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'
Then the devil took Him to the holy city, and made Him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to Him, ' If You are the Son of Man, throw yourself down.' . . Jesus answered him, ' Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.' 
Then, the devil took Him up to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to Him, ' All these I shall give to You, if You will prostrate yourself and worship me.' At this, Jesus said to him, 'Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall worship and Him alone shall you serve.'  Then, the devil left Him and, behold, angels came and ministered to Him." -[ Matthew 4: 1-11].


It is an interesting concept that during Lent, we are tempted, and yet we resist.

Lent is a "desert time" in our lives, a season when we come face-to-face with what tempts us to Sin.

Of course, those temptations are ALWAYS there. But, during Lent, we fast and pray, and we become even more sensitive to the line between Sin and Holiness.

Three main temptations to Sin are set forth in this Scripture: misplaced hunger and impatience; pride and insecurity; and the desire for power.

I believe that how we fall into temptation says a lot about our individual weaknesses, and about those things we need to work on to reap a spiritual life of plenty.

Jesus says that "One does not live on bread alone." [Deuteronomy 8:3].  When I read this, I ask myself, if I become impatient that the supermarket is out of my favorite brands of food, OR if I speak rashly to the waitress not bringing my meal quickly enough -- what is my REAL hunger here?

In the supermarket, I expect the shelves to always be stocked with what I want to buy. If my favorite item is out of stock, I become angry and impatient. It has taken me a long time to realize that, I am expecting perfection here, I am expecting things to always go a certain way for me.

But isn't that a misplaced hunger? When we long for perfection, we are REALLY longing for God Himself. To calm that misplaced hunger, I try to calm down and seek the nourishing "word that comes from the mouth of God."

Jesus also says, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."  -[Deuteronomy 6:16].  Sometimes, I compulsively ask God for signs. I sit in traffic and say, "If there IS a God, the light will turn green and I will get to my destination on time." OR, " God, IF You are there, You better resolve this situation like THIS,  because I am facing a real mess."

But isn't that worshipping myself, in a sense? Apparently, in these situations, I think I have a better solution than God Himself.  Instead of relying on my Faith in God, I am treating Him like the Answer Man. I am praying over a bad circumstance AND I am directing God for a certain solution. AND I am turning my prayer into a sort of misguided loyalty test.

I am prideful in believing that I can demand my self-devised solutions from God. I am being insecure regarding God's power over my life, when I demand an answer as a barely disguised loyalty test; when, instead, I need to be able to trust in Him for HIS plan. Saying to God, "IF you really exist and you really love me, you will give me THIS", is NOT Faith. It is Pride.

Jesus finally says, "Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." -[Deuteronomy 6: 13]. Have you ever noticed how, in times of trouble, we humans want to be in charge? We look at " the world and all its splendor", and we take credit for it all ourselves.

When we feel out of control and trapped in an ugly circumstance, we want to puff ourselves up, to make ourselves look better in relation to others.. We may want to show off our power, by boasting about our money or our possessions. We may want to devise easy solutions that are designed to show us in the best possible light, but that have nothing to do with God and His kingdom.

But, isn't that forgetting that true humility comes from realizing that everything comes from God?
True power comes from serving God, not from serving our own selfish desires or behaving like we are in control of the Universe.

So often, we Christians dread Lent because we fear that this is a season of self-punishment.

Instead, I am reframing Lent as a season to recognize my own temptations : misplaced hunger/ impatience; pride/insecurity in God; lust for power over things I cannot control/ false soothing with materialism.

This Lent, I challenge you to explore where YOUR greatest temptations lie? AND to lean on God and on the Spirit as your Strength.

[Related Postings: "The Test", 2/14/16; "The Desert", 2/25/15; "Lenten Meditations", 2/27/13; "The Color of Lent", 2/27/12; ].

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