And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. — Luke 4:1
On many occasions, I have heard other Christians talk about how they fell into temptation. They talk about how they were following God and then, all of a sudden, they fell into temptation. I have often heard them ask, “how could that happen?” Or even say, “how could that happen when I was doing what God wanted.”
There are many people who believe that you will only face temptation when you are not close to God. Turn on some popular television spiritual personalities, and you will hear it. Read some more contemporary “spiritual” writers, and they will say it. They will tell you that you will only face things when you are not living like God wants you to. Except that’s not true.
In the Bible, we are told to live our lives in the example of Jesus. Jesus said He came to this world to do the Father’s will. He came to this world to die as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. But in the gospels, we find that Jesus faced temptation. In Luke’s record of the story, he starts out by recalling how Jesus was full of the Holy Ghost.
In other words, Jesus was right where He was supposed to be. He was doing the things He was supposed to be doing. As He even said, He was doing the will of God the Father. So if you can only face temptation when you are not close to God, how was Jesus, who was full of the Holy Ghost, tempted?!
For Christians, some of the greatest temptations we face don’t come when we are weak. They come when we are close to God and feel strong. In our minds, we are often confident that we can combat the devil in those times. If you find yourself being tempted in those times of closeness and strength, remember the example of Jesus. Don’t try to combat the temptation on your own. Remember the word of God!
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