He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” (Luke 4:2b-4)
After my divorce, I felt unloved. The devil knows when we need something, and he is quick to offer his “help” to go down the wrong path. He taunts us with the words, “If you.” In my case: “If you need love….” As you can imagine, there are many ways Satan would finish that sentence. However, the correct way is, “seek God.”
You can imagine how excited the devil was when he knew Jesus needed food. He would offer temptation on an Olympic level, and as you will see, the devil doesn’t give up easily. He begins taunting: “If you are the Son of God.” In other words, prove it to me. “Tell this stone to become bread.” The devil knew there was no McDonald’s in the middle of the desert, so his request almost sounds like a reasonable – but if Jesus followed the devil’s orders, his ministry would’ve been ruined.
The devil knows the scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3 which Jesus doesn’t bother to finish as He brushes him off. “Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus tells us we should only listen to God’s word. He will provide the necessities including love.
There was a time in my life when I was trying repair what was wrong. At first, I believed that there was no repairing what was wrong and that I just needed to move on. The devil took complete advantage of my vulnerable state and I allowed the devil to take over. I made so many bad decisions that I ended up making many apologies for my actions. I don’t remember the exact moment that I realized what I was allowing to happen to me. I do remember tears and prayer and asking for forgiveness. I had to try and figure out why I allowed it to happen so it would never happen again. It was a time of soul searching and taking responsibility for my actions.
Wow! That’s a moving story. Thanks for sharing. I also went through a similar period as I’m sure many humans do. It was great you were able to apologize. Repenting makes it so much easier to move on without adding another layer to the wall around our hearts.