Do you ever think about God’s faithfulness to us? What about your faithfulness to God?
Who of us does not want to be found faithful when we reach the end of our time here? Faithful in our marriages, faithful to our families, even faithful in our places of employment. But, most importantly, I want to be found faithful to God.
Today, as we look at Jesus’ second temptation, my prayer is that God would teach us just how faithful He is.
“Faithful You are…”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'”
We determined in last week’s blog, Lent: Into the Wilderness, that the devil was not questioning Jesus’ divinity. He knows who Jesus is and what He is capable of.
In Luke 4:9-12, we find this almost identical passage, except written in a little different order. My study note for Luke reads, “Satan was tempting Jesus to test God’s faithfulness and to attract public attention dramatically.”
Here, we see the enemy testing Jesus to prove Himself to the world with “signs and wonders”. In that day, they were looking for the Messiah to come with power and might. But they were not expecting the One who would ride in on a donkey, turn water into wine, feed the 5000 and choose to hang on the cross for each and everyone of us. All done in humility and servitude. This is our Savior!
“Faithful… Forever You will be…”
Jesus needed to trust God and His mission by staying the course, not proving to anyone what He could or could not do. How easy it would have been to flash a few miracles for the world to see. To plunge from the top of those cliffs and have God’s army of angels catch Him in the fall. But that is not His way. His ways are gentle and kind, as He trusts and obeys, even when He may not understand.
In fact, Jesus later tells us in Matthew’s Gospel, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
Everything God does in our lives is preparing us for our next season. Often, what we think is from the enemy is in fact God teaching us just how faithful He is. So that next time, we can “trust and obey, because there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
Thankfully, Jesus, in all of his divinity, stands in the face of temptation, proving in all his humanity, just who He is. Because of His relationship with God, He can remain faithful to do what God has called Him to do. In doing so, Jesus not only saves Himself, but saves us all.
Do you ever think about God’s faithfulness to us? What about your faithfulness to God? Lent is the perfect time to recommit your life to Christ. How will you be faithful to God today and every day leading up to Easter?
Let’s us pray and then finish your prayer time with this song below. (if you can’t see the YouTube video, open this message from your browser.)
Almighty God, Jesus our Savior, Holy Spirit, show us your faithfulness and teach us to be just as faithful to You. Prepare us for our next season, trusting and obeying even when we may not understand. In your sweet, sweet name we pray, Amen.
P.S. – Leave me a comment below because I love hearing from you. Forward this message to a friend and ask them to subscribe to my website. Share on Facebook and tag me in it. And until next time, how will you honor Christ this week? -M
