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As soon as Jesus received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, He was led into the wilderness. The wilderness is not a very pleasant place but it is a very important part of life. It is where God prepares you to achieve His purpose for your life. It is where everything you have depended on is stripped away from your life. It is where the enemy taunts you with ideas about God being unfaithful. 

​READ Matthew 4:1-4

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  

The tempter came to him and said,  

‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’

 Jesus answered,

‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’

(Matthew 4:1-4 NIV)

The Bible records the final conversation Jesus had with the devil but the Bible states that He was continually tempted by the devil. I can imagine the devil telling Jesus, why are You still loyal to God? Even though He knows You are hungry, He has not given You any food to eat. Why don’t You use the power He has given You to satisfy Your hunger? Just turn these stones into bread! 

The devil was appealing to Jesus’ ego to push Him to use His power without God’s instruction. So Jesus replied,

“Man shall not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the Father.”

 Jesus made the clear choice to obey God’s word because “you are a slave to whom you obey”. 

If Jesus had obeyed the instruction of the devil,

1. He would have automatically become the devil’s slave.
2. Secondly He would have become a slave to His fleshly desires.
3. Thirdly, He would have lost the ability to live by the instructions in God’s word.

 Jesus recognized the fact that when you live by God’s word all other things will be given to you. 

When you overcome in the wilderness then God is able to release you into the battle for the Promised Land.

Another example is David, who was in the wilderness as a shepherd and overcame the bear and lion through faith in God. Therefore his victory in the wilderness qualified him for the battle with Goliath in the Promised Land.

Are you in the wilderness? You are in a good place. Just learn to depend on God for every decision, provision and victory; every step of the way. 

Those victories will be the foundation for greater battles to come in the Promised Land. 

MEMORY VERSE

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

QUESTIONS

1. How do you overcome negative feelings in the wilderness?
2. Write down your victories along the way.

PRAYER TIPS

Lord, please show us how to depend on You as we navigate the temptations; and teach us the principles to overcome at all times, in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen

Written by:
LAURETTA AWUDE

For:
TESTIMONY DEVOTIONAL

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