Daily Verse: Hebrews 2:18

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

There it is right there…proof that we don’t stand alone in the arena of temptation. The only perfect man to ever walk this earth was tempted too! As a veteran of the temptation of sin, Christ understands the weight it places on our lives, the enticing lure that makes it look so good, and the difficulty of pushing it out of our lives. And above all else, he understands how to overcome it. He leaned on his Father in heaven…focused on serving his Father above absolutely everything else…even if it made life incredibly uncomfortable…he still did not waver. Imagine during those 40 days in the wilderness how much nicer the time would have been if Christ had surrendered to the devil’s temptations…the stone would have become bread, and Christ would have been fed…but he refused. He knew that nothing short of complete obedience to God would be acceptable. As followers of Christ, we have that link to God that once was lacking…we can lean on the Father during times of temptation as Christ did. But when God responds, we must accept his response. We must grab ahold of it with both hands, willingly obeying exactly what it says. We can’t afford to look at his response from a distance and evaluate whether or not it feels right, works out to our liking, or makes things comfortable. It is likely that it won’t be comfortable…change usually is not comfortable. We will be hungry, tired, and hurting at times…But change by the hand of the Lord is undoubtedly good, righteous, and necessary. May we take the time today to acknowledge the temptations in our lives, confess them to the Lord, and ask for his strength, wisdom and direction in defeating each and every one of them! To God be the glory!