Outta Here!

Matthew 4:11
Then the devil left him and angels came and attended him.

Jesus' temptation in the wilderness.
Not some religious exercise but one that would serve him later on in a garden outside the city of Jerusalem.
We are forged and strengthened when we have encounters with the devil.
We are.........
if we let God fight for us.
Too many times I try to fight in my own strength and reasoning. It's not that I fail every time, but I waste my energy and more than that......
I do not turn to the one who truly defeated the devil on a hillside called Calvary.

If you read the Matthew 4 passages, Jesus did not work up power and go head to head with the devil.
He countered every move with Scripture.
Wow! Do you think maybe Scripture might be more powerful than we first believed.
Do you think that within, what some conceive to be a dead, dry book, there might be the truth that stops the devil at every turn.
Jesus' encounter in the wilderness was not an encounter of power. It was an encounter with truth.
Jesus simply "out-truthed" the devil.
That is why I love this chapter....
Time after time,even as the devil quoted half-truth from the Scriptures, Jesus countered with the whole truth.
Maybe that is what I need in my life.
The whole truth!
In Verse 11 we see where "the devil left him."
A person with the truth will defeat the plans of one who is cloaked in half-truth and deception every time.
I think the thing I really like is what happens after Jesus' encounter with the devil.
Angels came and attended him.

Reckon what they did to Jesus?
Did they fill him with food and water, bringing provision from his Father in heaven?
Did they rub his tired, aching muscles and soothe his weary brow?
I'm not sure and we're not told.
Part of me wants to believe that they had a time of praise and worship, giving glory to God the Father for his faithfulness. Praising his kingdom and his power!

Bottom line, every time Jesus' encountered the devil, Jesus came away stronger and full of grace.
Nothing could stop Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and the cross.
Jesus' knew who he was...
He knew and understand the dictates of his father who had sent him.
He knew that no power, no government........nothing was going to stop him from finishing his mission here on earth.
I am overwhelmed sometimes when I stop and consider the resolve that filled Jesus. I pray that for myself. That I not allow myself to be detained or turned aside from what God has called me to.
Praise God! What a Savior.

God on you....
mb