VALGOOD

^“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Deuteronomy 8:3

Yesterday morning as I was reading my Bible, I read about the temptation of Jesus from the book of Luke. Jesus fasted 40 days and nights (can you imagine?!?!) and then when He was really hungry, Satan tempted Him by saying “Turn these stones into bread.” Jesus answered by quoting the above Scripture that “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Then in my devotions last night, the same incident was quoted from Matthew. I would say God was making a point to me! Satan continued to tempt Jesus, and Jesus continued to be free from sin by refuting those lies with Scripture. It dawned on me that we must resist temptation with Scripture. I’ve known it all along, but I don’t think I realized before how prepared we must be! I wrote that in the margin of my Bible.

Then as I saw in my devotional, author Dee Brestin took it one step further. In her book A Woman of Moderation, she gave the following exercise “Answer these lies from the devil with Scripture references” and gave some general ones like “Eating just one chip isn’t that bad; I need to eat to be happy; I’ll just have a small second portion even though I’m not hungry; I’ll start tomorrow.” These are all thoughts I’ve had, and I realized how important it was to be prepared IN ADVANCE for these attacks.

How do we prepare? By being in the Word. Knowing Scripture and being able to say it when we need it is a great way to help resist temptation. God made His own people hunger to show them that what’s most important is His Word. Jesus is our perfect example and he demonstrates how to overcome temptation. This applies to beyond just the temptation to overeat – anything we’re trying to overcome can be handled in this manner.

The purpose of this blog is to share God’s Word with other people who need it, and to encourage those who are struggling with the same sins that I do! Feast on the truth contained in the Bible, hunger for God, and resist the devil. You can do it. Stand strong today in the power of Christ!

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. God, thank You for being the perfect example for us. We ask that You keep us from temptation and equip us to say no when we need to. Empower us with Your Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and give us the words to say at the right time (Luke 12:12). Please make us healthy and thin for Your glory and break our bonds to slavery and addiction. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!