Devotions

Suppose you came upon Jesus on day forty-one immediately following his temptation in the wilderness. His face is shining. He’s rejoicing, praising the Father, because he’s won a great victory.

You see Jesus exuding life and confidence. Now he’s ready to face the powers of hell, so he sets off boldly for the great cities that lie in darkness. He preaches the gospel, sure of God’s Word. He heals the sick, knowing his Father is with him.

Now, as you examine your own life, you see just the opposite. You’re still facing your own dry wilderness experience. You’ve endured fiery attacks from Satan, and your soul is cast down. You can’t help thinking, “Jesus never went through trials like mine. He was above all this.” You may see a minister who appears strong in faith; he sounds so assured of God’s presence that you think, “He’s never had any problems like mine.”

If you only knew! You were not there when God called this man to preach and then led him into a wilderness to be tempted sorely. You weren’t there when he was reduced to nothing, cast down in despair. You don’t know that often his best sermons have come out of the testings of his own life. Paul himself warned believers not to measure their righteousness against what they thought was another’s. “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12, NKJV).

We can’t read the hearts of others. Who would have known on day forty-one that Jesus had just emerged from a long, horrible temptation? Who’d have known that the glory they saw in him sprang from a struggle worse than any they would ever endure? We are to look only to Jesus. We’re to rely only on his righteousness, his holiness. He has given us all equal access to it.

God loves you in your testing times. His own Spirit has led you into the wilderness. His own Son has already been there, and he knows exactly what you’re going through. Let him complete his work of building into you utter dependence and trust in him. You’ll come out with confidence, godly compassion and strength to help others.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he made this outlandish seeming offer: “Again, the devil took him up on an exceedingly 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 will fall down and worship me.’” (Matthew 4:9, NKJV).

This sounds so ridiculous! How could it ever be considered a temptation? Believe it or not, this was a powerful, enticing offer. Satan was challenging Jesus, saying, “I promise that if you'll merely bow down at my feet in a single act of worship, I’ll quit the fight. I’ll give up all my power over these realms. I won't possess or enslave anyone else. I know that you love humankind enough to be accursed by God for their sake. Why wait? You can sacrifice yourself right now and free the world from this moment on.”

Why was the devil willing to give up all his power for this? It would seem that he was trying to save his own skin. Satan surely knew or guessed that his eternal destiny would be sealed at Calvary. If he could just keep Jesus from going to the cross, he might spare himself that fate.

You may be wondering, “How could this possibly relate to me?” Well, beloved, Satan still tempts the righteous with a similar offer.

Satan comes to us with threats and accusations. He tells us, “You don't have to worship me because I already have access to your flesh. I know all your weaknesses. Go ahead and testify about your freedom in Christ. At the moment you're singing your loudest praises, I'll overpower your mind with evil. I'll bring up your sin to you so powerfully that you'll despair of ever being free. You are powerless.”

How do we answer Satan's accusations? “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you" (James 4:7-8). It doesn't matter how many temptations Satan throws at you. You needn't fear any sin from your past. If Christ's blood has covered it, then the devil can't do anything to separate you from the Father.

Some time ago, I was at a meeting where I preached a sermon on disappointment. After the service, I was talking with a highly successful and well-known pastor. As we chatted, he said something that stopped me in my tracks. He said, “Man, I'm so disappointed with myself.” At first, I was speechless, then I said, “You are? Well then, is there any hope for the rest of us if you’ve had such success and yet you're disappointed with yourself?”

Later, while thinking about that conversation and the pastor’s startling revelation, I realized that he was just admitting to a struggle that we all have. Everyone makes mistakes, and every one of us fails on a regular basis. We try to hold ourselves to an impossibly high standard by thinking, “Oh, I can’t allow myself to fail. I can never stumble.”

Failure isn’t the problem, though. Proverbs says, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again…” (Proverbs 24:16, NKJV). It doesn't say he never stumbles; it says that he keeps on trying. We aren’t failures unless we stay down.

There will always be times when we let ourselves and others down and become frustrated. For example, when I come home in the evening, one of my goals is to take time and be present with my wife. But sometimes I come home, and by the time I get to bed, I realize that I didn't do that at all. I'm disappointed with myself, but I realize that is not evil. Rather, the evil – the defeat – is staying in that moment of failure. Instead, I can own it and use this self-awareness to drive me to God, toward real change.

I wish I had told my pastor friend, “It's okay to be disappointed with yourself; we humans constantly fall short of expectations.” The key is to be patient during those times of failure and let God use them for our benefit. It's a lifetime journey, but through the Spirit and the Word, God provides us with the encouragement and direction we need to finish strong.

Paul wrote, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2, ESV).

Okay, this is where someone has committed an external, outward sin. This isn’t walking around, looking to rebuke everyone because you thought you saw something wrong in them. I grew up for a short while around that kind of stuff, really pride ‘spirituality.’ A person’s done nothing outwardly, but you have people who come up to them and say, “I see a spirit of jealousy in you. I rebuke you for that.”

The other person says, “What did I do?”

“Oh, I don’t know, but there’s jealousy. Now I want to try to restore you.”

“Uh, no. Don’t restore me. Restore yourself, and get away from me.” But this kind of response would bring judgment, and we’d have a big rebuking contest on our hands. Everybody rebuking everyone else for what they perceive to be a shortcoming. We should just have a big dose of humility because we’re not all that ourselves.

What Paul’s talking about is someone caught in open sin, and he orders believers to restore them gently. The word ‘restore’ there is the same sort of meaning as mending a bone. You don’t amputate every time something breaks! Remember, believers are members of the body. This is a body we’re talking about. When someone falls into sin, you don’t get angry with them. If I fell and skinned my knee, would I start yelling, “What’s wrong with you, knee? Let’s amputate this knee!” No. You don’t do that. You take extra good care of the wounded member. You try to help them.

Paul is saying that this is what Christ wants us to do in the church, and he commands this to those of you who are living by the Spirit, you know, the mature believers. This is why he wrote, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Brother and sister, let’s get better at this gentle mending of bones.

_{Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.} 

While all the foundations of the world are shaking, Satan roars like a lion, and there is confusion, violence and uncertainty. Those who trust in the Lord, though, will see God's salvation with hearts and minds at peace. They can enjoy rest and sweet sleep, unafraid of conditions around them.

I give you some glorious promises of God for all who trust in him in these perilous times.

• “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; he is a shield to all who trust in him” (2 Samuel 22:31, NKJV).

• “Show your marvelous lovingkindness by your right hand, O you who save those who trust in you from those who rise up against them” (Psalm 17:7).

• “Oh, how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons of men” (Psalm 31:19)!

• “You shall hide them in the secret place of your presence from the plots of man; you shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues” (Psalm 31:20).

• “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (Psalm 31:24).

• “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5).

• “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him” (Psalm 37:39-40).

• “In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me” (Psalm 56:4)?

• “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah” (Psalm 62:8).

• “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever” (Psalm 125:1).

• “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).

The only safeguard against Satan's evil devices is to face him with the promises of God. God's Word is still all-powerful, and the devil still trembles when we stand firm with this sword in hand. Today, now, take your stand.