Facing Temptation

This Sunday marks the First Sunday in Lent. Lent is a time for us to examine our own lives, to peer deeper into our souls and to strip away the veneer. It causes us to look at what we really trust in life. It makes us look, once again, to see if we are really living as children of God. It makes us see what needs to be renewed.

Our Gospel in Mark 1:9-15 brings us to the Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. This wilderness experience comes just before Jesus starts his public ministry. Any coincidence? It seems like the Spirit is leading Jesus to confront his own humanness in order to understand us better. The power of the devil will become a challenging force throughout the rest of his life.

The wilderness is a place where you are stripped of all your resources. It is a barren place where you must see just how you will survive. It can be a frightening place. Jesus through this experience learned his dependence on God. There were angels that came to minister to him.

We, too, will face temptation by the evil one. Satan does not appear before us overtly announcing a time of testing, but rather comes in some subversive forms--ways in which we might not be aware. Satan's temptations are for us to find our security in the things of this world.

Therefore, we must sit up and take notice. Satan can use anything to draw us away from God. Will you be on guard? Because Jesus has overcome temptation by Satan, we also can have the power from him to resist what Satan might bring to us.

What are you trusting in life to help you through rough times? Can you identify anything in your life in the good times, where Satan might be tugging at you to pull you away from God?