Basic HTML Version
Wilderness Temptation
71
Christ endured. Our only hope of eternal life is through bringing our
appetites and passions into subjection to the will of God.
In our own strength, it is impossible to deny the urges of our
fallen nature. But by passing over the ground we must travel, our
Lord has prepared the way for us to overcome. He would not have
us be intimidated and discouraged. “Be of good cheer,” He says, “I
have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
.
Anyone who is struggling against the power of appetite should
look to the Savior in the wilderness of temptation. See Him in His
agony on the cross, as He exclaimed, “I thirst.” His victory is ours.
“The ruler of this world is coming,” said Jesus, “and he has
nothing in Me.”
John 14:30
. Nothing in Him responded to Satan’s
deceptive reasoning. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a
thought did He yield to temptation. It may be this way with us as
well. Christ’s humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for
[49]
the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to
make us partakers of the divine nature. God reaches for the hand of
faith in us to direct it to grasp firmly onto the divinity of Christ, so
that we may reach perfection of character.
Christ has shown us how to accomplish this. By what means
did Christ overcome Satan? By the Word of God. “It is written,”
He said. And every promise in God’s Word is ours. See
2 Peter
1:4
. When temptation strikes, look to the power of the Word. All its
strength is yours. See
17:4
;
17:4
.
[50]