God is calling each one of us to trust Him in what we do in everyday life, in what He has called us to do that day. Jesus resisted temptation by the Spirit and the word. He relied on the Holy Spirit for strength and countered Satan with the word of God. May God give us grace to do the same.

How Do We Resist Temptation?

As believers in Jesus Christ, we constantly face temptation. We have been transformed by God’s grace, but we are not yet free from temptation. One of the reasons we look forward to heaven is that temptation will be over.

While we live on earth, though, the devil will continue to tempt us to sin. In 1 Thessalonians 3:5, Paul calls Satan “the tempter,” and that is a good description of what he wants to do.

Perhaps one of our friends doesn’t pay attention to us as much as they did previously. We feel left out or snubbed. We are tempted in such a situation to feel bitter and resentful and to indulge in self-pity.

Or perhaps our finances are very tight, so we are tempted to respond in worry and anxiety, wondering where we will get the money we need to make it.

Perhaps circumstances in our lives have taken a turn for the worse. We wonder if what we do is really significant and whether it really matters. Satan in such situations tempts us to be discouraged. He whispers in our ears, Your life is meaningless and you might as well live to please yourself.

How do we resist the many temptations that we encounter in our lives? We know from Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus wasn’t exempt from temptation. We read there that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”

Jesus’s Temptation

And in Luke 4:1–15, we read about how Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan. Many things are happening in these verses, but I want to shine the light on how Jesus functions as an example to us.

The first thing that we should notice is that Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit. Notice in verse 1 that “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert” (Luke 4:1). Only Luke tells us that Jesus was full of the Spirit when he returned from the Jordan.

Verse 14 also emphasizes the Holy Spirit: “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14). Luke is telling us that Jesus resisted the temptations he experienced as a human being, in the same way we do, by relying on the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, Luke wants us to contrast Jesus in the wilderness with Israel in the wilderness. Israel wandered in the desert forty years and consistently disobeyed God’s will. Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days and did what God commanded.

Temptation to Physical Satisfaction

Now let’s look at the temptations one by one. We know from Luke 4:2 that Jesus fasted for forty days and was very hungry. In verses Luke 4:3–4 the devil comes to him and says, “‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man does not live on bread alone.’”

Remember that the Lord tested Israel in the wilderness by causing them to hunger and then by satisfying their needs with manna.

When Satan tempted Jesus, I think he had this passage in Deuteronomy in mind. Satan turns the passage on its head. Satan’s words to Jesus are clear. Since you are God’s Son and you have the authority to turn a stone into bread, do so. Satisfy your physical needs.

Satan invites Jesus to fulfill the role that the Lord plays in Deuteronomy. Just as the Lord supplied manna for Israel, so Jesus is to show that he is the Son of God by supplying manna for himself.

Jesus refuses Satan’s temptation, for his calling on earth is to live in dependence upon God, relying on the Spirit to strengthen him. Jesus will not satisfy his own hunger in his own strength. He will rely upon God to feed him. He will wait for God to fulfill what he has ordained.

So what is the lesson for us? How are we responding to our physical needs? Are you financially strapped? Do you feel sexually unfulfilled? It is tempting to try to fulfill our needs by relying on our own wisdom and our own resources.

God calls upon us to trust in him. What would it mean for you to trust God in such situations? When Eve saw that the tree was good for food in the garden, she ate it. She didn’t trust that God would meet her needs.

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