Bible Verses With Comments

Satan's Tatics Of Deception: #2 Fleshly Hunger

The second thing to learn from the tactics of Satan's deceptions in Matthew 4 is fleshly hunger.

Jesus had been fasting for nearly 40 days and Satan saw the weakness of his flesh. One thing to always keep in mind with weakness is this.

Satan sees our weaknesses and seeks to highlight them. He will use them to lie and deceive us into thinking that we are stuck with these weaknesses. They will only increase with no hope of building them into something better. We are defined by our weaknesses and they are all we are.

But God does the opposite. He takes our weaknesses and shows us how He can turn them into strengths. He uses them to grow us to be more like Christ and does it right in Satan's face.

Anyway, Satan saw Jesus's weakness of body and sought to exploit it to his advantage. "Take these stones and turn them into bread."

You can almost hear the lilt of temptation in his voice. "You haven't eaten in such a long time. You've proven your faithfulness to your Father. He knows that you have been loyal to him. Satisfy your hunger and eat."

But Jesus, even in his weakness, keeps his trust in God. "Man does not live by bread alone. But by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

Food is important to sustain life, but unless we feed ourselves with the bread of the living God, all other endeavors are useless. Feeding ourselves well spiritually is just as detrimental to our health as eating physically well. We are walking in death by starvation if we refuse to chase after God and live only to satisfy ourselves.

Keep that in mind as we draw close to the end of our fast. By denying ourselves nourishment of the flesh, we are allowing God to nourish the starvation of our spirits. As Etty told me, denying fleshly hunger is a sacrifice from us to God that says, "This is far less important than you no matter how much my flesh craves it."

Keep strong, girls! You're almost there! Keep fighting the temptations of Satan!

Lily (lilyflower1603)