Daily Devotionals

Trouble Maker Week 3: Wednesday

Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’” Luke 4:3-4

Have you noticed that we are more likely to give in to temptation when we are weak? For example, when I am hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, I am more likely to lose my temper, take the easy way out, eat more than I should, and so much more. Can you relate? Unfortunately, Satan understands this, and he often preys on us when we are weak. He even preyed on Jesus when He was physically weak after fasting for 40 days. When we understand this tactic of Satan, we can pause and evaluate and understand that our temporary states of physical or emotional weakness might be making us more willing to give in to temptation. Then, we can better say “no” to it. 

Luke 4 tells us that Satan tempted Jesus during a time He must have been very hungry because He was in a period of fasting for 40 days. During this time, Satan said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread” (verses 3-4). Can you imagine how much Jesus wanted to do this? I should mention that the stones in the wilderness where Jesus was usually looked like the pita bread that most people ate in Jesus’ day. Jesus knew that He was called at this point to focus on God, so He responded to this temptation by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, which says, “people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus turned back to Scripture and spoke the truth that honoring and following God the Father is more important than following our appetites. He was hungry but did not let Satan’s temptation cause Him to sin. 

Satan will use our weaknesses to lead us to temptation, but we are not alone in the battle. God equips us in this battle to help us fight through the Holy Spirit and Scripture. When we fix our eyes back on God rather than our appetites, He helps us in our temptations. After all, God’s power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Moving toward action

When we are aware of our weaknesses, we can better understand when we are more susceptible. Understanding that temporary feelings or emotions that we feel can help us turn away from some of the temptations that Satan throws at us when we feel weak. As you go throughout your day today, commit to being very aware of areas where you might feel weak. Do not let Satan use any areas where you feel weak to cause you to give in to temptation. Instead, ask God for help to give you strength in the areas where you feel weak.

Going Deeper

Deuteronomy 8:1-20 (NLT)

“Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. 3 Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. 5 Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.

6 “So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. 8 It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. 9 It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. 10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. 12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, 13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 15 Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! 16 He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. 17 He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ 18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

19 “But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. 20 Just as the Lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the Lord your God."