Matthew Chapter 4

"1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

At first glance, this verse is a little puzzling. It almost seemed strange that the Spirit would work with the devil. After giving it some thought, however, it rings a similar tone to the story of Job. It is but God allowing the devil to test Job. In our lives, similar situations could happen with two possible results...1) Triumph over the devil and be attended by God/angels (vs. 11) as in Job and Jesus' case or 2) Fail the test of faith. These incidences serve as trials to refine our faith as pure gold. In our lifetime, there will certainly be a time when God will allow the devil to tempt us. However, God had already promised us that "God is faithful; he will not let [us] be tempted beyond what [we] can bear. But when [we] are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that [we] can stand up under it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

We can see that Job and Jesus were both prepared for this moment in their lives. Prior to being tempted, Job had already shown himself to be "blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8). He was a person who sacrificed burnt offerings for each of his children whenever a feast was held to purify them in case they have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. We can see from this that if Job cannot even tolerate the possibility of his children sinning in their hearts, how much more will he not allow that of himself.

Before Jesus was tempted, he had fasted for forty days and forty nights. He was well prepared after spending much time with God to withstand the devil's tricks. He was not able to be defeated physically, spiritually, or materialistically. These will be the same tricks that Satan will use to tempt us as promised that "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man" (1 Corinthians 10:13). When the temptations come, are we ready? Are we preparing ourself daily as Job and Jesus had for the time when God/the Spirit allows the devil to tempt us? Will we come out of the battlefield a winner?