Have we been seeking premature (and improper) substantiation of God’s presence? Have we heard the voice of God directing us towards a difficult path and (yet) shut our eyes, preferring alternatives seemingly innocently yet knowingly evasive of the Spirit's leading? Do we walk by faith? 

Read Luke 4:1-13

The temptation(s) of Jesus in the wilderness was as much a triumph of identifying temptation as it was of overcoming it.

1. Jesus was hungry after forty days fasting in a dry land. Food was a legitimate need. But he rebuked Satan for saying he should take (or make) some bread. This seems a little extreme, if not for one fact: Jesus knew the time for bodily discipline and chastening had not yet ended.

2. Jesus was about to face great suffering to inaugurate a worldwide kingdom. Not surprisingly, there were less painful ways to have one’s own kingdom, authority and splendor. Satan’s bargain was, in all honesty, a deal to die for: “You get the world and all the power to change it – I just want you to give me the same reverence I already get from everyone else.” Jesus could even fake his worship (like some of us do on Sundays?). And think of the great things one could do with all that wealth, power and fame! But Jesus decided to accept only the options His father laid down before him.

3. Jesus may have wanted further confirmation of God’s continued presence and power prior to his ministry. The desire for supernatural evidence of God’s protection and nod of approval can oftentimes be as intense as any thirsty craving for water. Satan, of course, knew this and offered Scriptural proof of God’s ever-present shielding from harm, even as he challenged Jesus to force God’s safe-guarding hand. Yet, Jesus demonstrated that all divine promises are subservient to divine worship.