Tempted to Abandon the Cross

“No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:10-12).

The Lord gives many distinct promises to defend and keep his people from evil and harm. However, how many people truly walk in the freedom of these verses? Consider, for example, Psalm 91:5: “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day.”

Often the temptations we must endure occur at the time of our greatest usefulness to the kingdom of God. Suddenly we find ourselves violently opposed in our minds with thoughts trying to push us away from what God has called us to be in Christ. In light of this, bear in mind that in a season when men’s hearts are failing them for fear, it is potentially the Church’s finest hour to rise up for the sake of the kingdom of God. This means that you and I are likely to find ourselves in places that are very undesirable to the flesh — a type of personal wilderness.

Jesus was led into a wilderness place —tempted to abandon the ultimate purpose for his life: “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil” (Luke 4:1-2). Jesus was about three years away from fulfilling the calling that was given to him by his Father — three years away from the greatest event ever recorded in the world, when the Son of God died for the sins of the world. He was so close to the finish line, and that is exactly when the devil tempted him the hardest.

Just as Satan tempted Jesus, we are going to be tempted to abandon the cross and the call of God on our lives. Thank God that Satan did not succeed in diverting Jesus to self-focus in the wilderness. He understood his purpose and did not shrink back from the cross in fear. Likewise, in this time of calamity, this wilderness, you and I must believe in the reality of God’s promises when so many around us will be gripped by fear.

^{Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001. In May of 2020 he transitioned into a continuing role as General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc.}