Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into[a] the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” Luke 4:1-4, NKJV
To anyone who's had a food addiction (like moi), that temptation to change something inorganic to something edible when you're hungry could be almost irresistible. Let me tell you something--if it hadn't also been almost irresistible to Jesus, it wouldn't have been much of a temptation. The devil wouldn't have wasted his time.
Now, with most of us, it doesn't take 40 days of going hungry to tip us over the edge, but Jesus had something more than we do, didn't He? None of the rest of us could do that little trick--but He could have. Notice how He handled it: He buried the temptation under the Word of God.
That can work for us too. Next time you're tempted to eat that big piece of chocolate cake, will you say instead, "I don't need cake--I have the Word of God?" You don't have to say it out loud (which could embarrass your host or hostess), but you could say it to yourself.
It doesn't have to be a piece of cake. What is you you are most tempted by? What scripture helps you the most to resist? Then, "taste and see that the Lord is good." God is able to help us resist that which tempts us the worst, just as He was able to help Jesus resist that undeniable hunger--with His Word, which is mightier than a two-edged sword.
Cover yourself with the Word. It's your solution.
Father, guide me closer, hold me tighter. Feed me with Your Word. Fill my cup with the Living Water. Thank You, Father.
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