Happy Holy Week, everyone! As we come to the end of Q1 and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, may it mark the start of a new order of testimonies in our lives this year and season, in Jesus name, Amen.

Today, I want to share a personal story. In Matthew 4:1-10, the temptation of Jesus seems as though Satan’s last attempt is what we need to be most wary of because that’s the one that clearly reflects what it was, a temptation. Bow down and worship me and I will give you all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. I will explain what I mean, but let me quickly tell my story. Last year, I was convinced that the Holy Spirit was leading me to leave my current job. Why? I thought the Holy Spirit was instructing me to quit if I trusted God to provide a better one for me. I thought doing that would show I trusted God and have surrendered to His will since I had nothing to fall back on. If I did that, my faith would be really tested. These were my lines of thought. Thank God for God that I never went through with it. Through the account of Jesus’ temptation, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the devices of the devil in this experience months after.

The first temptation: So, earlier I said it seems as though it is temptations like the last one that we are always looking out for or praying to overcome. The temptation that will test if you are for God or not. But what about the 2 temptations before that, the types that tempt you to put God to the test, that tempt you to give God an ultimatum? Those are the ones that we should be most careful about because the devil masks them as though you are putting your faith to work. Turn this stone into bread. The problem is not that Jesus couldn’t turn a stone into bread, but what would have been the point of it? He fed thousands with 2 fishes and 5 loaves so that the name of God may be glorified. Do you think Jesus turning the stone to bread would have glorified the name of God in this instance? The same way the Holy Spirit asked me what would have been the point of me leaving that job. There was absolutely no other reason except that it was not what I wanted and I thought I should be on a better role. Remember, Jesus is our template. So, because Jesus is hungry and He can, He should turn stone to bread?

The second temptation: Would the angels not have really stepped in if He threw Himself off that temple? With the power Jesus carried, was He even capable of getting hurt if He jumped? But again, what would have been His reason for jumping? To prove a point? What point? That He is Almighty? Jesus said to the Pharisees who questioned His methods that He came for the lost. Throughout the bible, God’s approach was never to merely prove a point. Prove a point to who exactly?! When God shows up, He shows up BIG. God’s approach is for His name to be glorified in all the earth. That all may see His Glory, come towards the light and know that He is God. Quitting that job would not have been an avenue for God’s power to be seen and His name glorified. The devil would have just succeeded in tricking me to test God.

I pray for grace to become wise to the devil’s antics and deceptions of wanting to prove a point with our faith in Jesus name, Amen. May we not put God to the test!

God bless,

Dasola