Matthew 4:1-3
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
It was after 40 days of fasting, when Jesus was REALLY hungry that the enemy came to tempt Him.
We seem to feel as if the hard stuff we go through when we’re tired is unfair. And it is. But unfair or not, that is often the time when the enemy comes to temp us and to lie to us. He doesn’t wait for us to be strong so that we might resist Him. He often times waits for us to be weak so that we won’t want to fight.
Oddly enough, that’s also the time that Jesus likes to shine.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
It’s when things are hard, when I feel weak, when I’m tired, when I’m wounded, that the enemy will come and offer me a way out. Which usually has to do with me choosing myself and taking care of myself.
But it’s also those times of difficult hardships that Jesus offers His way out. Which is Him. In our weaknesses, when either by way of attack or just my own selfishness, I would want to choose myself, my way, on my strength, that God offers His way, Himself, and His strength.
The times of fatigue, stress, and anguish, feel like low points to us. But I think they are often times the major action times and turning points in our lives. And if we choose right, they become the high points.
So when stuff gets hard, will you choose you? Will you trust your strength? Your plans? Your comfort?
Or when you are weak, will you allow God to show you just how strong He really is, how good His plans really are, and how complete His comfort really is?
Hard times show up either way. And when they do, you will find yourself one choice away from those times of weakness becoming stories of victory, or defeat.
Which way will you go?
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
It was after 40 days of fasting, when Jesus was REALLY hungry that the enemy came to tempt Him.
We seem to feel as if the hard stuff we go through when we’re tired is unfair. And it is. But unfair or not, that is often the time when the enemy comes to temp us and to lie to us. He doesn’t wait for us to be strong so that we might resist Him. He often times waits for us to be weak so that we won’t want to fight.
Oddly enough, that’s also the time that Jesus likes to shine.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
It’s when things are hard, when I feel weak, when I’m tired, when I’m wounded, that the enemy will come and offer me a way out. Which usually has to do with me choosing myself and taking care of myself.
But it’s also those times of difficult hardships that Jesus offers His way out. Which is Him. In our weaknesses, when either by way of attack or just my own selfishness, I would want to choose myself, my way, on my strength, that God offers His way, Himself, and His strength.
The times of fatigue, stress, and anguish, feel like low points to us. But I think they are often times the major action times and turning points in our lives. And if we choose right, they become the high points.
So when stuff gets hard, will you choose you? Will you trust your strength? Your plans? Your comfort?
Or when you are weak, will you allow God to show you just how strong He really is, how good His plans really are, and how complete His comfort really is?
Hard times show up either way. And when they do, you will find yourself one choice away from those times of weakness becoming stories of victory, or defeat.
Which way will you go?
