Temptation is an Opportunity for Victory

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

Daily Thoughts 

January 13, 2025

Temptation is an Opportunity for Victory

Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Matthew 4:11

Read Matthew 4:1-11

When Jesus was in the wilderness, he experienced the same temptations, in the same sequence, as did the people of Israel when they entered the wilderness after escaping from Egypt. Jesus was tempted regarding hunger, testing God and false worship. Unlike Israel, Jesus was faithful. (See Exodus 16, 17 and 19-32)

We are called to be a part of God’s people, to do God’s work in the world, thus we will face the same temptations, as did Israel and Jesus when they were in the wilderness. 

At their core, these temptations are not about things I really want to do but know I should not. They are temptations to be someone other than the person God calls me to be. These are temptations to deny I am a child of God. Jesus overcame the Devil’s temptations by being fully committed to his Heavenly Father, and by being empowered by his Father’s grace. So also, we can overcome our temptations. The temptations we encounter are opportunities for us to experience victory in Christ!

My Takeaway: I want to live my life by trusting in Jesus, who loved me and gave himself for me. Every day I am tempted to deny my life in Christ and trust in something else to meet my needs. Like Jesus, I can turn to scripture and affirm that I am a child of God. So can you.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.