Into the Desert with Jesus
The Scriptural basis for the 40 days of Lent is found in Jesus’ own going into the desert for 40 days after His baptism. In Matthew 4:1-11 we read (on air).
The devil tempted the Lord toward sensual satisfaction, testing the Father, power, and popularity. These are all ways in which we experience temptation, as well. We have Jesus’ example to follow and can learn something about Satan’s tactics in this.
Satan approached the Lord after He had fasted for 40 days and was hungry. How vulnerable are we when we are worn down? We can expect to be hit with temptations during difficult times and pay special attention to discerning the Lord’s voice at such times, praying, taking authority in Jesus’ Name over anything not of the Lord, and going to brothers and sisters in the Lord to get additional discernment.
It’s particularly interesting that the first two temptations from Satan start with “If you are the Son of God.” Satan isn’t creative. He does the same old thing to us! He starts by getting us to question who God is to us and who we are to Him. When we move away from the truth of our identity in the Lord, we are capable of anything bad thing. We need to keep the fundamental truth of who we are to the Father always before our eyes, along with His provision for us, His protection over us, and His Lordship.
May we journey with Jesus into the desert this Lent, knowing He was tempted like us in every way but did not sin. May we always stay rooted in our identity in who we are to the Father!
May the Lord give you peace!
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