Temptation: The Purpose For Severe Temptation

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

Matthew 4:1

Have you ever wondered where the cliché “wilderness experience” came from? We have all had them. So did Jesus. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Does that shock your sensibilities? Are you bothered that the Spirit would initiate temptation?

Actually, the Spirit didn’t tempt Jesus—Satan did. “For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (James 1:13). Yet God led Jesus into the wilderness. He leads us into the wilderness. He has important work for you and me, and He must squeeze the cultural Christianity out of us. To do this He sometimes takes us into the wilderness.

For me it was a period of the deepest, darkest sort of agony—cash flow problems, people problems, and few answers. The awesome pressure of my business problems overwhelmed my emotions. Day after dispirited day, I would trudge home to my wife and say with tears streaming down my face, “I am so weary. I just don’t know how I can go on one more day.”

Frankly, the catastrophe was of my own making. I suppose that’s the way it is for most of us. It was my own foolish decisions which yielded such a harvest of heartache. Still, the agonizing pain crushed my spirit into dry, powdered dust. As I wandered around in my wilderness, I sensed a wily devil manipulating my emotions, hoping I would fail the test.

The Good Satan Does

God uses Satan for good. Can you believe that? Paul received a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to keep him from becoming conceited (see 2 Corinthians 12:7). God used Satan to help keep Paul from becoming conceited—for good.

In the name of Christ, Paul instructed the Church to hand a sinner over to Satan (see 1 Corinthians 5:5). Why? So that his sinful nature would be destroyed—for good. God is in the business of making His saints holy. Incredulous as it may seem, He frequently uses Satan as an instrument for good. That certainly was the case when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. He qualified Himself for the work of our Savior.

Satan must have God’s permission to sift you, to put you under the severe temptation. “‘Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat’” (Luke 22:31). Don’t rebel while you wander in your own wilderness experience; let Satan sift you, and you will learn inexplicable truths about yourself. You will grow into an inarticulate, child-like trust in Jesus.

The Holy Spirit who leads us into the wilderness doesn’t leave us; He stays there with us. He may be quiet for the moment, but He is always there. In due time the test will pass. “Then the devil left him, and [by the Holy Spirit] angels came and attended him” (Matthew 4:11). Your angels are waiting for His signal. Stand firm and resist.

A Sense of Purpose

Of what earthly value could your temptation be? What is the purpose for such a severe test? It is not for you alone. It is to prepare you for important work. “‘But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers’” (Luke 22:32, emphasis added).

When you have stood the test, when He brings you out the other side of the wilderness, after the angels have attended you, become food and drink to strengthen your brothers. Let them feed off you. Become a proxy for Jesus who was the bread of life.

I SURRENDER

Lord Jesus, the temptations of my life seem severe. Strengthen me with Your Spirit. I see that the tests of my life are not for me only. Help me to be food and drink from whom others can gain strength. Amen.