At the Peak of Pressure, Part 2

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.  Matthew 4:1-11

It’s all too true in our experience that Satan often doesn’t give up when we successfully resist his first effort to tempt us to sin. But there is a way to stand against that pressure. Look at Jesus’ response to Satan’s three pressure-packed temptations. In each instance, His response was to say, “It is written!”

Can you see the importance of Jesus’ line of defense? If Jesus, being God in the flesh, resorted to using the Word of God as His defense against Satan’s temptations, how much more should we, who are earthly, sin prone children of God, depend upon God’s Word.

What area of your life comes under attack on a regular basis? What is your point of weakness? Where do you tend to give in to the pressure of sin’s appeal?

Go to God’s Word and find what God says about those areas of your life. Hold firmly to those Scriptures which speak especially to your heart. Memorize those verses, and have them on hand when temptation begins to battle your will to resist.

We all face temptation, but praise God, He has not left us to stand in our own righteousness but has already won each battle for us. Build your memory arsenal with the unchanging, powerful Word of God.