The Great Controversy in the Desert

“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the

Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted

for forty days by the devil” (Luke 4:1, 2, NKJV).

Read Luke 4:1–13. What lessons can you learn from this account

about how to overcome temptation and not give in to sin?

Temptations can be so difficult because they appeal to things we

really desire, and they always seem to come at our weakest moments.

Luke 4 is the beginning of the story of Jesus’ temptation by Satan,

and it brings some difficult issues to our attention. At first glance, it

appears that the Holy Spirit is leading Jesus into temptation. However,

God never tempts us (James 1:13). Rather, as we have been seeing, God

does lead us to crucibles of testing. What is striking in Luke 4 is that the

Holy Spirit can lead us to times of testing that involve being exposed to

Satan’s fierce temptations. At such times, when we feel these tempta-

tions so strongly, we may misunderstand and think we have not been

following God correctly. But this is not necessarily true. “Often when

placed in a trying situation we doubt that the Spirit of God has been

leading us. But it was the Spirit’s leading that brought Jesus into the

wilderness to be tempted by Satan. When God brings us into trial, He

has a purpose to accomplish for our good. Jesus did not presume on

God’s promises by going unbidden into temptation, neither did He

give up to despondency when temptation came upon Him. Nor should

we.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 126, 129.

Sometimes, when in the crucible, we get burned rather than purified.

It is therefore very comforting to know that when we crumple under

temptation, we can hope again because Jesus stood firm. The good

news is that because Jesus is our Sin Bearer, because He paid the pen-

alty for our failure to endure that temptation (whatever it was), because

He went through a crucible worse than any of us will ever face, we are

not cast off or forsaken by God. There is hope, even for the “chief ” of

sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).

What temptations are you facing now? Spend some time in

prayer, asking the Lord to teach you how to apply the lessons

from Jesus’ example to your own life. Remember, you don’t have

to succumb to temptation, ever! Remember, too, that if you do

succumb, you have a Savior.