Triumphing over Temptation

read time: 12 mins

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights, he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭4‬

We are all familiar with temptation. They are the desires that draw us into actions of destruction, invitations to engage in the sins that lead to death. Sometimes they are strong. Sometimes they are consistent. Something we feel like a slave to the growing weight of our destructive desires. Many of us have grown tired of the hurt and pain we consistently inflict on ourselves and others. We are tired of falling into the same traps and experiencing the same consequences from lackluster decisions. Some try method after method and system after system as they try to break free from their consistent cycles, while others redefine what they believe sin is as a means of avoiding the disappointment and shame that comes from what they perceive as consistent failure. We react to shortcomings by redefining what it means to miss the mark, but some of you are tired of that game. You recognize the error in your sin and want true freedom. You are tired of getting hit with the backlash of the choices, decisions, and actions you know deep down are not in your best interest. You want liberation. 

You have felt like clothes in a dryer, being tossed to and fro under the direction of your pet poison for years. For some gossip is your kryptonite. Every dinner table conversation seems to lead to you encouraging tales of others' misfortune. Every reunion with friends is an opportunity to talk down on others as a way of soothing the feeling of personal inadequacy and lack you have. Others struggle with idle words in a different way. We lie to protect ourselves or elevate our image. Our impressive imaginations have us stuck in cycles of false witness and dishonesty. Some of us struggle with anger that leads to outbursts of regret and fits of uncontrolled passion. Some struggle with greed, envy, gluttony, or sloth. Some studies have shown that the most common temptation in men is lust while the most common temptation in women is pride. We all experience temptation. Experiencing temptation and at times falling into that sin is a given, but bondage doesn't always have to be our story. The Bible doesn't just say we are forgiven from sin, it says we are free from it. 

We are under no obligation to follow the nudges of our sinful nature. No one is forcing us to walk down a path of painful destruction. We have a choice and we have the power to say no. Jesus shows us that this is possible as one of the first acts of His public ministry. 

What we see here is interesting. The devil finds Jesus in a weak spot. Jesus has been fasting for over a month. He is hungry, tired, alone, and weak. Like with us, the devil knows when the most opportune time to strike is. He waits until Jesus is at His weakest and potentially most distracted. He proposes three temptations. He possesses temptations of appetite, applause, and authority, but today I want to set our sights on what we can glean from the first of the three because it represents a form of temptation that seems to entangle most of us. 

It's perplexing because the devil's first temptation isn't regarding anything we’d outrightly evil or detrimental. He isn't telling Jesus to kill anyone or even to steal the food. He's telling Him to turn some random stones into bread. What's wrong with that? It honestly would be more than understood if a hungry man who fasted for 40 days and 40 nights wanted some bread. Nothing is wrong with bread. It's normal to be hungry. Why can't Jesus turn the stones into bread? What is the devil's strategy here?

Food isn't a new tool in the devil's belt. Food was what he used to entice Eve to choose trust in herself over trust in God. Food is what he used time in and time out to try to convince the Israelites to turn around and walk back into slavery. Food may seem simple but what it often represents is the devil pulling at a loose thread in your belief of who you can trust to provide for you in this moment. This temptation wasn't about food, it was about immediate gratification. This temptation of appetite was really a question as to whether Jesus would encroach on His father's timing and take matters of His sustenance into His own hands. We have to remember that the text testifies that it was the Spirit of God who led Jesus into the wilderness after His baptism at the opening chapter of His earthly ministry. While the leading of God may not always make sense or look positive on the surface, the true test of faith is our ability to follow the Lamb wherever He leads us. 

The devil knew that God had led His son on a mission that would build His muscle of dependence before the curtains opened and the true performance began. So the devil took this opportunity to try to convince Jesus to jump ship. I can imagine the devil slithering to Jesus’ ear and saying, “Are you sure your Father didn't forget about you out here?” “How much longer will He let you suffer out here alone? It's been a month.” “Is He not coming to feed you?” “He will understand if you end the fast now. You may as well take matters into your own hands and fulfill your own needs.” The devil was right, Jesus might not have known when His wilderness season would be over. Yet, Jesus trusted His Father enough to stick to the plan even when it seemed dry, barren, depleting, and difficult. How good are we at following the direction of our Father through what seems like provisionless wilderness seasons? How easy is it for us to supersede God’s plan and take matters into our own hands for our survival when things look bleak? 

Taking matters into your own hands may not look like a premature meal for you but it may look like cheating to get into the job you know you are called to. Maybe it looks like skipping God’s process to rush to the promise. Turning stones into bread is convincing yourself that the ends justify the means. It's going ahead of God to accomplish the will of God. For Abraham and Sarah, it was sleeping with a slave instead of waiting out the promise of their Savior. For Jesus it would be using His power to prematurely end the growth moment His Father prepared for Him.

To take this deeper, nourishment was a healthy desire for Jesus. But true trust in God is trusting His timing even when it means abstaining from good things before their appointed time. For example, sex is a healthy and needed desire. God actually uses sex to illustrate the love He has for His church and pleasure, intimacy, and new life He desires to birth from us if we would just trust Him enough to let Him inside. Don't let anyone tell you that sex and sexuality is a bad thing that shouldn't be discussed or celebrated. Paul even commands us not to abstain from the necessary practice of sex in marriage and to prioritize marriage if our desire is overwhelming. It's so important that both husbands and wives are commanded not to deprive each other of their God-given sexual needs, but learn to unselfishly succeed at fulfilling them (1 Cor 7). Sex is so important that the first Sabbath activity we see prescribed in the Bible isn't church, but sex. Yet, God also says it is reserved for a specific time for a specific reason. You are hungry, I get it. But are you going to go ahead of the timeline God has you on now to feed yourself in the areas He wants to provide for you later? Or can you wait and grow in the areas you are intended to grow in as you wait? Do you have enough trust to put your desires for yourself behind His desires for you?

Every temptation is not a call to something bad. Oftentimes, it's a call to something great in the wrong order. Bread is a great thing, it just wasn’t time for it yet. All an idol is at times is a good thing becoming a “God thing.” It’s when something God creates to point to Himself is used out of order and placed ahead of Himself. When the God-given desire for sex is out of order it becomes porn, promiscuity, and perversion. When out of order a blessing becomes a curse. Like giving water before a cup, the miracle out of order can become a mess. When out of order, something meant to give us a taste of heaven can open a window to a personal hell. I didn't want to go down this path but many of us are missing out on the abundance and prosperity of peace God wants to offer because we are trading momentary pleasure for the exceedingly and abundantly that God wants to pour out if we only wait on His timing. True trust in God is a trust that His timing is for our ultimate good.

So how did Jesus avoid falling into this temptation of appetite? How did Jesus avoid going out of God’s ordained order to accomplish good things at the wrong time? The first thing I want us to see is that Jesus anchors Himself in God’s will by submitting to His Word. Many of us fall for everything because we don't stand for anything. We don't make decisions beforehand so when push comes to shove we have no footing. One reason many of us succumb to emotion-led temptations is that we try to navigate during the temptation instead of arranging precautions beforehand. Jesus’ response to the devil's temptation is a quote from a message found in Deuteronomy chapter 8. The passage details how the Israelite's hunger and wilderness experience was allowed for the better good of the people. It goes on to remind us how God still provided when they needed it. Jesus had been reminding Himself of this parallel story to find peace in His own situation. He had made up His mind before the temptation came so that in the moment He would be able to stand. The way we get through the temptation of appetite is by submitting our will to God’s word. If we truly trust what He said, we can make it through the wilderness seasons. We have to decide what side we will be on before the question is asked. 

The Bible doesn't just say we are free from the obligation to follow our sinful desires, it says that Jesus will always provide a way to escape for every temptation. If we are deciding to trust God as we wrestle through the wildernesses of desire, there are a few practical responses we can take that I have implemented in my own fight against desires of appetite that can be destructive out of order like that of porn, promiscuity, and other unwanted desires outside of God’s timing:

1.    Make a complete confession, and claim complete forgiveness. The Bible declares that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The first step in victory is admitting you need saving. But the Bible doesn't just say you should confess, it says that if you confess God will forgive. The devil would love to use shame to hold you back from accepting your salvation. It's ok to admit. You are safe. Forgiveness has already been dispatched. 

2.    Admit your powerlessness. One of the biggest hindrances to our breakthrough is pride. We don't want to admit how helpless we really are on our own, but it's when you admit your complete sickness that healing is made available. 

3.    Practice daily dying of self, requesting the Holy Spirit, feeding in His Word, and faith in His promises. You can't do this on your own and that's why we've been given the gift of a helper in the form of the Holy Spirit. This whole process is about complete submission to God and submersion in the Spirit. 

4.    Identify your triggers. For Jesus, it was hunger and loneliness. What is the typical prerequisite to your temptation? For some it’s an emotional high and for others its an emotional low. Recognizing these patterns and cycles will show you how to prepare for them. Learn when and where you are the weakest and you can prepare for those inevitable moments. 

5.    Plan for implementing “early safeguards.” This is where you fight the battle. After you recognize triggers, you can plan to limit them. Before you are presented with the question of sin, make a decision as to what your response to the temptation will be. Plan so that you avoid temptation at its full power. In the case of the sexual temptations we described, maybe you don't need to text or call members of the opposite sex after a certain time. Maybe you don't need to watch some movies or listen to some songs that put your mind in a place you don't want it to be. The Bible says to cut off your hand if it causes you to sin. That isn’t literally but the application now may be to unfollow some accounts and delete some numbers. Lot’s biggest mistake wasn't moving to Sodom and Gomora, it was moving near it. Often times our biggest issue is not deciding to sin, but pitching our tent too close to it. If you say you are trying to wait, then really wait. Make it hard to slip up. If you're waiting, solo vacations can wait too. If you're waiting, you can plan out days so you don't have too much idle time. If you are waiting you can ask trusted mentors to check in for accountability. We often make it hard by pitching our tent too close to the battle. 

6.    Educate/resource yourself. The are many books and resources that would help you understand the inner longings behind some of your unwanted desires. Christian therapists and other trusted mentors and professionals can help you identify what unhealed childhood wounds may be the source of these unwanted behaviors. Unwanted by Jay Stringer is a great book to consider. 

7.    Count your wins, not your losses. You will fall. It's a given. Yet, a saint is just a sinner who fell down but kept getting up. Focus on the progress and not the problem. Focus on the freedom and not the failure. You’ve come a lot farther than you give yourself credit for and you'll go a lot faster if you realize that. 

8.    Respond immediately to the Spirit’s promptings—not by focusing on fighting or denying—but by turning thoughts to the promises of God. Remember that there is no temptation that is too strong for you and God promises to give you a way to escape. Oftentimes, He will lead you to an escape or to avoid the issue altogether if you just follow His voice. Turning your attention to Jesus in worship will often fill the void you are trying fill with out of order desires.

9.    Remember that temptation feels powerful, but it’s temporary. In the moment, you often feel helpless but if you turn your attention to God the storm will often pass. Change your location. Change your activity. Don't just focus on the temptation but redirect your attention to the side of God that would scratch the itch that your unwanted desire is attempting to attain.

10.    Attain a support group to hold you accountable. The Bible says that there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. A three-strand cord isn't easily broken. There is strength in the community. The Bible also says that healing is found when we not only confess our sins to God but to each other. Your confession in the community won't just help others, it will help you. What many of us are missing is confession and community. We need to know we aren't alone and to lean on the strength of others when we are weak or just stupid. I can tell you stories of friends literally seeing my car or checking my location and then calling me to tell me to leave when I was in places and positions that could lead to falls. At one point two friends literally picked me up and carried me away from a situation that was going to lead me astray. This is a type of friendship you can pray for. God wants you to have a community. Just make sure you are actually open to rebuke and submission to counsel when the time for accountability comes. 

We all struggle with temptation. That is a given, but you don't have to keep falling. Fail forward. Every time you fall, use it as an opportunity to learn and be better prepared for the next battle. Romans 6 is a great place to read up on this. Don’t be a slave to sin but rather lean into the Spirit and find life with Jesus. It’s all about where your focus and momentum is. You are not obligated to go down these destructive roads anymore. There is grace for the falls, but don't give up. More is available for you. Lean towards Jesus and not your own desire and you will make it through. 

“For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬