Hungry, by Ryan

With Ash Wednesday being celebrated a few weeks ago (March 6 this year) kicking off the season of Lent (40 days before Easter excluding the Sabbath each week) reminds me of when Jesus went to the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by Satan after His baptism and before beginning His ministry (Matthew 4:1-11). The passage records three ways that Satan tempts Christ and I would like to focus on the first one recorded in the Bible in this post.

Picture yourself on a rocky mountainside (see below) and you've gone days without food. The Evil One uses that still, small voice to whisper in your ear something like: "It's not a big deal, you have the ability and power to turn the stones you are walking on to a fresh, warm loaf of bread because I know you're hungry." I think the longest I've gone without eating is a little over 30 hours - I can't imagine going 40 days. Jesus spent 40 days of prayer and fasting before starting his ministry. Praise God that Jesus doesn't have the same response that most of us would have and give in to temptation and His physical desires.

Jesus responds to the Tempter by reciting the verse from Deuteronomy 8:3 (...man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord) because He knew that Satan was tempting Him by appealing to His physical need of eating. Jesus knew that if He gave in to Satan, He would not fulfill His purpose on Earth. If Christ didn't fulfill His purpose on Earth, none of us would be saved.

As we get closer to Easter, I want to encourage us to be mindful of what Christ did for us - saving us by suffering a brutal death and rising after three days. Keep in mind though that for Him to get there, he was tempted just as we are, sometimes by basic needs but also in the stillest and smallest voices. May we be hungry to grow closer to Jesus!

From dust we came and to dust we will return.