Facing Temptation

All of us are tempted. Drawn to the “shiny object” that Satan uses that can pull us away from God. Considering “going it alone” without God, becoming convinced we can do something better ourselves and claim all the credit. But, as followers of Jesus Christ, we want to be more like Him. How can we resist temptation? From his Bible Commentary, Warren Wiersbe shares wisdom from God’s Word that gives clear direction.

The account of Jesus’ temptation (Luke 4:1-13) exposed the tactics of the enemy, and it reveals to us how we can overcome when we are tempted. We have at our disposal the same spiritual resources that Jesus used when He faced and defeated Satan: prayer (Luke 3:21), the Father’s love (Luke 3:22), the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:1), and the Word of God (Luke 4:4).

This experience also helped prepare our Lord for His present ministry as our sympathetic High Priest; we may come to Him for the help we need to overcome the tempter. The Book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was tempted in the ways we are (Hebrews 2:16-18; 4:14-16). We have in heaven the interceding Savior who has defeated the enemy completely.

Satan tempts us to bring out the worst in us, but God can use these difficult experiences to put the best into us. Temptation is Satan’s weapon to defeat us, but it can become God’s tool to build us (see James 1:1-8, 13-17).

—Mike