By David Faust
Have you heard about the overweight man who went on a diet? His normal commute to work took him past a bakery, and he started taking a different route each morning so he wouldn’t be tempted. One day, however, he arrived at work carrying a large cake. He explained to his coworkers, “I drove past the bakery and saw delicious cakes in the window. I told the Lord, ‘If you want me to eat cake, please create an open parking spot right in front of the bakery.’ Sure enough, I found a parking space on my eighth time around!”
The humorist Sam Levenson quipped that we don’t need to be led into temptation. “Just tell us where it is,” he said, “and we’ll find it.”
40 Days in the Desert
Ironically, in Matthew’s Gospel, two chapters before he said to pray, “Lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13, New International Version), Jesus himself “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (4:1). God doesn’t put us in situations where sin is unavoidable. “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (James 1:13). If we live for a while in Temptation Desert, the Lord’s goal is to build our character, loyalty, and ability to serve. He is pulling for us to win, not setting us up to fail.
The prayer, “Lead us not into temptation,” reminds us:
- Life is a battlefield filled with spiritual landmines.
- We should flee from evil desires (2 Timothy 2:22), not flirt with them. Billy Sunday observed, “Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in.”
- Satan is a dangerous adversary who shouldn’t be taken lightly. We must “resist the devil” (James 4:7) and stand firm in our faith (1 Peter 5:8-9).
- Victory comes by being “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10). We can’t defeat Satan in our own strength any more than a kid with a BB gun can stop an army tank. The Lord himself will “deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).
Jesus’ Example
Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). His own 40 days in Temptation Desert gave him firsthand knowledge of how difficult the fight can be. What can we learn from the Lord’s lonely battle with the devil?
Temptation comes in times of weakness. Satan attacked when Jesus was physically exhausted after fasting for over a month (Matthew 4:1-2).
Temptation challenges our identity. The devil said repeatedly, “If you are the Son of God . . .” (Matthew 4:3, 6), although at Jesus’ baptism, the Father had affirmed, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). In a similar way, after we are baptized into Christ, Satan tries to raise doubts. “What makes you think you’re a child of God? You can’t be a productive Christian.”
Temptation is an ongoing problem. Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days. Some temptations bombard us day after day. We should never let down our guard.
Temptation comes in a variety of forms.
- Physical desire. “Satisfy your hunger by telling these stones to become bread.”
- Misplaced priorities. “Compromise with the devil to gain the world’s wealth and glory.”
- Unholy pursuit of recognition and approval. “Impress the crowd! Throw yourself down and let angels rescue you!”
Victory requires trust in God’s Word. Jesus rejected Satan’s enticements by quoting Scripture and saying, “It is written” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). Afterward, angels came and attended to Jesus’ needs (v. 11).
When evil grabs you by the collar and tries to drag you down into the mud, remember: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Next Week: For Yours Is the Glory
David Faust serves as contributing editor of Christian Standard and senior associate minister with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of Married for Good.
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