Matthew 5: 5 “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret of the temple. 6 And he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” (Psalm 91: 11 – 12) 7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written also, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” (Deuteronomy 6:15)
Yesterday we spoke about how Satan thought he was tempting Jesus while all the time God was using Satan to emphasize to Jesus how His ministry would have to function. The first challenge tested Jesus’ knowledge of Himself as the Son of God. Satan tempted Jesus to act as His own amateur providence and prove that He could do miracles. And Jesus refused, stating that He had to live by every word that came from the mouth of God. Not only did Jesus refuse to turn stones into bread, but He also refused to settle for a half – truth misquote of Scripture. Jesus had to listen to His heavenly Father and follow His leading. And now came the second test.
This time Satan placed the God – man Jesus in a very dangerous position and then urged Him to test God’s protection and see if God would send angels to rescue Him. In effect, Satan was tempting Jesus to prove whether or not God the Father was really a good parent who cared for His child. Was this a foreshadowing of Jesus’ eventual death on a Roman cross? Did Satan really know how Jesus would die, or was he merely guessing? At any rate, Satan was hoping that Jesus would go for the cheap thrill of angelic rescue, reducing His ministry in the process. But again, Jesus answered Satan scripture for scripture, refusing to force God. But what about us? Many times, we do try to force God. We find a scripture and quote it at God, practically shaking it in His face, as though God was reluctant to act and we had to manipulate Him to care for us.
Many of us make willful foolish mistakes and then blame God if He doesn’t immediately deliver us. And sometimes we don’t recognize divine intervention when it comes because we are trying to dictate the fashion in which God should rescue us. The story is told of a man in a town by a river that was flooding. The local fire department and police went through town, urging everyone to evacuate while they could. But this one man refused, stating that God would take care of him. Everybody else in town left and the river rose. The water came up to the second story of the man’s house, and some friends came by in a boat, begging him to get into the boat. Again, the man refused, insisting that God would take care of him. Finally, when the man was sitting on the roof of the house with nowhere else to go, a rescue team came with a helicopter and offered to pick him off the roof. But the man again refused, and he eventually drowned. When the man reached heaven, he berated the Lord. “God,” he said, “I thought you would take care of me.” “I did,” replied the Lord. “I sent you the emergency services, a boat and a helicopter. What more did you want?”
So, what can we do when we have gotten ourselves into trouble and need deliverance? First of all, stop doing whatever got you into trouble in the first place. The first rule of holes is that when you find yourself inside one, STOP DIGGING! Next, pray and acknowledge to God that you have made a terrible mistake and that you need help. The prophet Jonah learned this lesson in the belly of the whale, confessing his sins at a time when he had no hope of rescue. Third, having confessed your sins, ask God for help. Satan quoted Psalm 91 to Jesus. The scripture was correct; it was the way in which Satan twisted it that was wrong. And finally, trust that God will help you; but also realize that God may act in a fashion other than the one that you expect. Don’t be like the foolish man in the story who refused God’s help because God didn’t behave the way the man wanted Him to.
PRAYER: Father God, thank you that you DO care for us. Help us to learn the difference between testing you and trusting you. And thank you, that you are always trustworthy. In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.
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