In Luke 4, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the desert for forty days. During that trial Jesus endured three temptations, temptations that are still utilized by the enemy to tempt us today. It’s a mistake to think that Jesus was the only one to walk through temptation. So which of the three are you falling into?

1). The temptation to allow your physical cravings to rule you. The first temptation Jesus walked through was the temptation to turn stones in the wilderness to bread (Luke 4:3). The reason this was a temptation was because Jesus had gone without food for forty days, causing him (obviously) to become physically hungry. The temptation was to allow his physical cravings to rule him, as opposed to his spirit (also referred to as a soul or the will). Do you allow your physical cravings to rule you? Are you driven by a need for food? A need for pleasure (that dopamine hit that causes so many addictions)? A need for sex? Are you allowing something other than your soul/spirit/will to rule your life? If so, you’re falling for a temptation that Jesus was tempted with as well.

2). The temptation to give your heart to someone or something other than God. Jesus’ second recorded temptation in Luke 4:5-8 was to bow down and worship the devil in exchange for the world. Satan wanted Jesus’ worship, he wanted his heart. Jesus made the right choice, but do we? Be honest with yourself, if an objective third party viewed your life and your heart, would they say your heart truly belonged to God, or is someone or something more important? Does your heart belong to a relationship? A hobby? A career? A sports team? Material wealth? An addiction? Where’s your heart? The temptation is to give it to someone or something other than God. Jesus faced that temptation as well.

3). The temptation to try and manipulate God. The final temptation recorded in Luke 4:9-12 was the devil tempting Jesus to speed up the mission, to force God to save him in a spectacular fashion in front of a crowd, to manipulate God’s actions and manipulate other people’s beliefs. Jesus refused because he would not put God to the test. How often do we try and manipulate God, to try and get Him to bless what we want to do? How often do our prayers sound like requests to get God to sign off on what we’ve already decided we want to to? Who’s really in the driver’s seat in your life? You or God? Do you humbly submit to God’s will in your life, or are you trying to manipulate Him? Are you putting Him to the test?

The temptations of Jesus are still played out everyday in the lives of Christians. May we make the same choices that Jesus made.