Strength in Solitude



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 4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him... - Matthew 4:1-11

 Often times when this passage is taught it's done from a position of Christ in weakness and while that is not wrong I think in so doing we may miss something really important and that is Jesus operating from a position of strength. Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness for the purpose of being tempted by the devil. If the devil can isolate you he may feel he has an upper hand but isolation may also be an opportunity to become strong in the Lord and the Power of His Might. A careful study of the Life of Christ will reveal a pattern for His followers. He often retreated to a place of solitude to pray and seek The Father. Once He emerged from that time He was filled with wisdom, strength and power. 
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 We don't know what troubles await us in life but we have a choice to make during our time of forced isolation. We can binge watch the latest series, we can feed on social media or we can lock in with God. We can seek His face, His direction and become even more fit for the Master's use. 


 In the above passage the devil tempted Jesus in three primary areas: His natural inclinations. He was hungry and the devil tempted Him to misuse His authority to create a basic necessity. Second in the area of obedience. Jesus came to die and rise again from the dead. The devil offered a short cut, a bypass of the cross. The temptation to jump and be rescued is a test of the authority of God's will. Third in the area of devotion and surrender. Jesus is king over all. The devil offered Him the kingdoms of the world in exchange for devotion. It's clear that Jesus saw through all of this and if we are going to see through the tricks of the devil then it would be in our best interest to make the most of our time in solitude. 
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What we learn in solitude we demonstrate in society. This is a great time to get better acquainted with God, Our Father and Jesus Christ His Son. It's a great time to tap into the Power of The Holy Spirit who lives on the inside of us. We may not know what awaits us when this time of forced isolation is over but one thing is certain, as we train ourselves in godliness and true holiness and die to ourselves then we become rooted and grounded in love and we will not be so easily shaken.

 In Christ, 
Storm  

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