What are you tempted by? Where are your points of weakness?

Perhaps they are not as different as we think they are. Jesus was tempted 3 times in the wilderness to overcome the temptations that the Israelites did not overcome earlier in the desert. Perhaps those 3 temptations are what plague us even today. Let’s go over them. (Matthew 4)

1st temptation: Satan – “Turn stones into bread.” Jesus – “Man shall not live by bread but by God’s word.”
2nd temptation: Satan – “Let God catch you when you jump off.” Jesus – “Do not test God.”
3rd temptation: Satan – “Worship me.” Jesus – “Worship God only.”

Modernizing these temptations – (These are the thoughts Satan put into our heads to draw us away from God)
1st Temptation – “If I can just have money, power, and sex, then I will be happy!” (Physical things are what we really need!)
2nd Temptation – “If God is real, then why doesn’t He answer my prayers?” (God is not really good!)
3nd Temptation – “Only if I had __________ (our ultimate), my life will be good!” (Meaning is found in something other than God)

1st temptation makes us focus only on the physical things. (This leads to emptiness and loneliness)
2nd temptation makes us distrust God. (This leads to worries and anxieties)
3rd temptation makes us make something other than God as our ultimate. (This leads to addictions and habits)

What is the remedy? Overcome these temptations ourselves? No!

But look to Jesus who overcame these temptations for us. We are like the Israelites who failed miserably in the wilderness. We have all given in to these temptations at some point in our lives. But years later, Jesus went through these same temptations and overcame them. So, our only chance is to lean on Jesus and meditate on Him until our hearts are warmed to want to overcome these temptations in our lives.

PH