Facing Temptation

Today's Reading: Luke 4

Scripture:

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness." Luke 4:1

Observation:

Jesus was not tempted because He was lonely. He was not tempted because He was bored or lazy. Jesus did not wake up tired of His ministry and run into temptation while He was searching for release. He was full of the Holy Spirit and was being led by the Holy Spirit when He encountered His temptation.

Application:

Where I am with God as I head into temptation has a huge impact on the experience I have in resisting the temptation.

Prayer:

Father, the never ending pursuit of my discipleship, the twisting journey of learning to be a better husband, the total mystery that is raising kids, and the haunting questions regarding my purpose in life all take their toll on me. There are days I wake up and simply wonder if what I am experiencing is really all there is to life.

In the heat of those moments I become incredibly vulnerable to temptation. The appetites of my flesh become full awakened and finding something to feed them is never very hard. Sometimes I win. Sometimes I lose. Most of the time; I leave the temptation feeling defeated all the same.

The sense that I have this morning is that I need to worry less about my life and its temptations and focus more on being filled with the Spirit and led by the Spirit. I confess to You that I do not have a clue as to how this works or what I need to do, but I am incredibly open to Your teaching me and completely willing to submit to Your guidance.