When Jesus was tested in the wilderness, a significant part of the enemy’s challenge was to tempt Him to doubt God’s Word and question His own identity. A similar challenge confronts us. This devotional plan helps us to arm ourselves for the challenges of the wilderness and realign our thinking with biblical truth. Our most powerful weapon is the Word!
Helen Roberts and River Publishing & Media Ltd
Day 1
Scripture: Psalms 119:105-112
Armed and Ready
Jesus was in the midst of a 40-day fast, so it’s no surprise He was hungry. Neither is it a surprise that the enemy was going to tempt Him in the area where He was currently most vulnerable. The enemy tempted Jesus to satisfy His appetite by turning stone into bread. Just imagine the smell of that baked bread…
We all have cravings that we are tempted to satisfy – not just physiological ones, but also things like people-pleasing, gossiping, worrying, striving… In this study we will explore how we can be victorious, not simply by avoiding these temptations, but by overcoming them.
To defend Himself, Jesus turned to the words that came from the mouth of God, and so shall we. The psalmist describes the Word of God as, “a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). The Word of God can illuminate our path in life, but to only use it to light up the right path would be to miss its true power. Thankfully, the Word of God is much more than a torch! As Jesus knew in the wilderness, it is also our weapon.
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrews 4:12)
A double-edged sword speaks to me of both defending and attacking.
When Jesus faced the enemy in the wilderness, His mind was bombarded by tactical temptations. He used the Word of God not only to light the path He was to take, but also to defend Himself. It was the best weapon available to defeat the schemes of the enemy. Jesus knew that this battle was not purely a physical one, but a spiritual one too.
Living armed and ready is essential to our journey to victory in life. It means knowing what the Bible says and how to wield its truth in our defense. As we grow as followers of Jesus, we need to grow in knowing His truth. In this truth there is freedom and victory.
So today, let God turn the light on to show you which path to take. Pick up His sword and practice with it, so that you’ll be ready for whatever comes your way.
Day 2
Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:6-11
Higher Ground
Last year I was driving down the freeway on my way to a retreat when I noticed my car’s temperature gauge swinging between hot and cold. Shortly after this the car began to lose power and I had to drift off the road onto the hard shoulder. Did I mention that this happened during rush hour?!
A short while later the police arrived. They had noticed my plight and persuaded me to get out of my car and move to higher ground. I thought I was perfectly safe in my car, but from my new vantage point I could see how fast the traffic was moving and how dangerous it would have been to remain in the car.
Later that evening, at the retreat, God spoke to me. He said that, just like my car’s temperature gauge, my spirituality had been going from hot to cold. I learnt a few thing that night! I wasn’t expressing God’s love as I could, because I was more concerned about what others thought of me. I was also restricting myself by trying to do things in my own strength, instead of depending on the Holy Spirit. The truth was, areas of my spiritual life that I thought were quite safe were, in fact, in peril. I needed to move up to higher ground.
It was time to see what the Word of God had to say. Paul wrote to Timothy,
“I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
When we allow the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of the Lord to flow through us, it enables us to be the people God intends us to be. The enemy would like nothing more than for us to live in fear and timidity; hiding in shame, quaking in inadequacy, overwhelmed by oppression. But this is not what Christ died for.
Being confident in the living Word of God will enable us to be confident and victorious in all spheres of life. Let’s not keep plowing ahead in a vehicle that is just about to break down! Let’s go up to the higher ground as we draw near to Jesus.
Day 3
Scripture: Galatians 5:16-26
Self-Control
I’m not sure about you, but discipline and self-control are not my favorite words! They seem to be about restriction, about going without – and we live in a culture that encourages us to believe that we can have it all and do whatever we want.
Paul explained to the Galatians that one of the fruits of having the Holy Spirit living within us was self-control. Self-control is a vital attribute to have, because it keeps us anchored. It enables our roots to keep growing in Christ, so that all the other fruit can flourish.
Self-control will help us to express kindness gently, goodness faithfully, love joyfully, and peace patiently. Self-control will determine what comes out of our life and also what we allow into it.
Self-control holds us back from speaking words of retaliation to our grumpy neighbor, or speaking lies about ourselves or anyone else. Self-control enables the power and love of the Holy Spirit to be on display in us for the world to see.
When I was a child, my parents bought a small hotel. If you’ve seen the classic British sitcom Fawlty Towers, you’re close to understanding what my childhood was like. Over the years, thousands of people came and went, and (before the days of electronic key cards) each guest was given the master key to their room.
Self-control is like the master key of the fruit of the Spirit. It allows us to make secure so many doors into and out of our lives. When Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, he spoke about his own struggles with self-control.
“I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t … Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:18-25)
The answer is Jesus Christ! Paul recognized that in the battle for self-control, the answer is always Jesus Himself.
Today, remember that because the Holy Spirit is living within you, self-control is not out of reach. Put your self-control in the hands of Jesus and let Him to be the one who helps you.
Day 4
Scripture: Psalms 139:1-16
Waiting
Do you like waiting for things? I know I don’t. Recently I was in an automated phone queue and the more the recorded voice thanked me for my patience, the more impatient I felt!
Extended times of waiting can become energy sapping, as the proverb observes:
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)
Some early gynecological difficulties in my life left me aware that I might find it hard to conceive. Although my husband, Tim, and I conceived after just five months and had a wonderful daughter, I then suffered secondary-infertility and an extended season of waiting. Yet, God clearly promised that we would have more children – plural! The path was difficult to walk as weeks turned to months, and months to years, each new day facing the disappointment of unanswered prayer.
A breakthrough came in my heart when I realized that waiting for children was not about me, but about them. The words of David’s well-known psalm were just as true for my unborn children as they were for me:
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (Psalm 139:16)
I realized that God already knew my children. This helped me understand that the waiting was not designed to frustrate me – it just wasn’t His time yet. I had to learn to not get in the way of the Lord’s purposes by making it all about me.
Five and a half years from the birth of our first child, Bethany, Hannah was born. Then, after a speedy twenty-one months, David was born and our family was complete.
We need to recognize that our God-given dreams are not just about us and more about what God desires to accomplish. Remember the famous dreamer, Joseph? He had a number of divinely inspired dreams, but made the mistake of thinking they were all about him. They came to pass, but not without many years of waiting. In the end, Joseph saw the bigger picture (see Genesis chapter 45).
What are you waiting for? What dreams have you had that have not yet been fulfilled? Today, give God your dreams again and ask Him to give you His. Allow Him to show you how to be victorious in the waiting.
Day 5
Scripture: Luke 12:22-34
Worrying
If Jesus had given in to the temptation to meet His own needs and satisfy His appetite, He would have shown a lack of trust in His Father as His provider. The enemy was tempting Jesus to worry about whether God would really come through for Him.
When we allow our thoughts to be consumed with satisfying our own needs, we are drawn into the snare of worry. Worry is defined as “tormenting oneself with disturbing thoughts,” and so many people do, suffering with anxiety as a result.
We try to head off anxiety by taking control of things, reasoning that then we won’t have to worry about them anymore, but this is precisely the wrong strategy. At its heart, worry is a lack of trust. It questions the character of God, who has promised to take care of all our needs. Worry doubts that He will come through for us when we need Him.
Jesus was very clear when He spoke about worry.
“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? … Don’t worry about such things … your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.” (Luke 12:25-31)
Defeating worry means taking our eyes off our needs and focusing on the One who knows what we need. Instead of looking at ourselves, we look at Jesus instead.
Paul taught the Philippian believers to not worry about anything, but to pray about everything, because God knows our needs. (Philippians 4:6-9)
Worry is us talking to ourselves and going round in circles. Prayer is talking to our loving Father and entrusting everything to Him. Worry will strangle the life, hope, and peace out of us, but the truth of the Word of God will cut through its vice-like grip and allow peace to guard us.
Stopping worrying and starting to pray is not a magic trick, it is a choice. As Paul said, “Keep putting into practice all you learned.” It is a choice which we can exercise.
Today, look for the signs of seeds of worry settling in your thoughts. Chase them off before they take root. Anxious thoughts do not need to be entertained, however small they are. Turn all these negative thoughts into prayer and give them to God – again and again if necessary. Keep praying!
Day 6
Scripture: Matthew 18:15-20
Offense
The wilderness is an isolated place and there is nothing our enemy loves more than to isolate us. One way he tries to do this is by getting us tied up in offense.
Jesus knew that everyone gets offended at some point, which is why He gave some of His most prescriptive teaching ever on this topic. When others hurt us, accidentally or on purpose, we have a choice: we can forgive and look to build a bridge, or we can be offended and build a wall. The latter is how we become isolated.
I’d like you to consider becoming like a well-oiled duck! Ducks spend most of their time in water, but their feathers are coated with a natural oil, so the water runs off them with ease. Similarly, if we are filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit, offence won’t stick to us very easily.
Matthew chapter 18 contains Jesus’ crystal clear guidance on how to deal with offence. The first thing we should do, He says, is speak privately to the person who has hurt us. We shouldn’t complain to our spouse, our best friend, or the whole world on social media. Most issues can be solved privately.
Of course, Jesus knew that not everyone would admit their fault. If that happens, then and only then, a third party should be brought into the discussion – someone respected by both parties with the wisdom to mediate.
The final stage, if all else fails and the relationship is in danger of becoming permanently fractured, is to go to the church and seek further help.
In over seventeen years of leading a church family, I have only seen a whole church need to be involved in a dispute on one occasion. Jesus wants us to value all of our relationships so that we live together in unity, not in isolation. Our enemy is campaigning for the opposite!
Today, think about whether you are harboring hurt against anyone. Or alternatively, have you hurt someone and know that an apology is overdue? Jesus taught His disciples to deal swiftly with any relational issues, so we should do the same.
Then, it’s time for us to become like well-oiled ducks and allow the Holy Spirit to help us work for peace; to restore relationships; to let go of offence. Today is the day to break free from the pain of isolation and begin to heal.
Day 7
Scripture: Philippians 4:4-9
Peace Exchange
If I could write the script for a movie of my life, I’m sure there would be more than a few deleted scenes that wouldn’t make the final cut. No doubt there are things you wished weren’t a part of your story – or things you are going through right now that you wished you didn’t have to.
The enemy loves to interrupt our hopes with fear, anxiety, and disappointment. But our Father God wants us to know His gift of overwhelming peace. Because of Jesus’ victory, we can be victorious (even in the wilderness times) and exchange our fear for His peace. This exchange is secured by trust as we say, like Jesus, “Not my will but yours be done.”
Approximately two thousand years ago Jesus faced death, wrestling with the thought of what was about to happen. He didn’t want to suffer a painful death and He wrestled in prayer, under extreme pressure, until He sweated blood. Yet He was willing, for all our sakes, to say to His heavenly Father, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Overwhelmed with peace, He journeyed onward, trusting His Father for the outcome.
I remind you of Paul’s words:
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
Giving up our will for His enables us to receive His peace at all times, which guards our greatest battlegrounds – our heart and mind.
Having a peace that exceeds our understanding means that even when there seems to be evidence to the contrary, we can still trust the Lord and enjoy His peace.
His peace will protect us, guard us, and enable us to continue, whatever the circumstances, knowing that whatever the outcome, God’s will is going to prevail.
Today, pause and consider how the enemy would like to keep you gripped in fear, yet the Father wants you to exchange this for His peace. Make the exchange, as Paul showed us how. As you tell the Father your worries and thank Him for what He has done, may you be filled with peace.