Monday Devotional: Are You Being Tempted?

Are you being tempted?  Don’t assume if you’re being tempted that you’re out of God’s will. Sometimes temptation means that you’re precisely in God’s will.

Consider this: Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. Luke 4:1

In this setting, Jesus could not have been more aligned with God. He had just been baptized by John and the heavens had thundered with God’s declaration of Jesus’ divine favor. Then Jesus obediently followed the Spirit into the desert. While there, he faced an endless onslaught of satanic temptation.

Now when we hear that someone is really being tempted, we often assume that they have it coming to them. Right? We think, “If they weren’t hanging with such a bad crowd, they would not be tempted all the time.” Or, “They must really be in sin or they wouldn’t be so tempted.” And occasionally, that’s true. Frequently, however, the opposite is true. Satan will go after a Christian because she is being obedient. He attacks Christ-followers who are growing and who are increasing their kingdom impact. He tempts Christian leaders to sin so he can cancel out their effectiveness. That’s what he was doing with Jesus.

I don’t know how much Satan knew about God’s plan for Jesus, but he knew enough to know that he didn’t like where Jesus’ ministry was going. All Jesus’ talk of the coming of God’s kingdom certainly wasn’t good news for his domain of darkness. So he launched a full assault on Jesus. He had to get Jesus to stumble before things really got out of hand. The temptations that Jesus faced were proof-positive that he was exactly where God wanted him.

Are you being tempted? Do you feel like you take one hit after another? Do you sense that there are spiritual forces aligned against you? Is spiritual growth an arduous process for you? If so, it may well be because of Satan’s resistance. Do not be misled: if you’re practicing sin, you’re inviting satanic activity in your life. Don’t blame the devil for tempting you when you’ve locked arms with him. However, when you’re legitimately on the high road, when you’re honestly trying to honor and obey God, trouble will come. And when it does, you can be sure that the spiritual forces of darkness don’t like where you’re going.

It is possible to be led by God’s Spirit and assaulted by God’s enemy at the same time. The former does not exclude the other; rather it usually attracts it. The devil doesn’t waste time on targets that aren’t a threat to his domain. Are you being spiritually assaulted? Take courage; you’ve become enough of a Christian to warrant the attention of the enemy of God.