You know when you've experienced that constant nagging. That feeling of a continual poke or jab or itch. It's that annoying whatever that just won't go away. If you have kids, you know what I'm talking about. They pick and they poke until they get the desired reaction from their victim.
I have to imagine this was the sort of predicament Jesus found Himself in while in the desert, hanging out with the devil. Luke 4 tells the story.
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
Jesus was tempted by the devil. Its easy for us to think Jesus had a forty day fast and prayer meeting and then stared down three temptations from the devil. But that's not what it says.
It says Jesus was tempted for 40 days. What must that have looked like? Was it just a bunch of questions from the devil? Like a long car ride with kids, was it a constant barrage of 'are we there yet'? Except, in this case, it might have been 'are you hungry yet'? All while the devil snacks on cheese doodles, a snack from the devil if ever there was one. (Seriously, it stains everything.)
Forty days!?!
And it was after the forty days that satan brings out three big questions, tempting Jesus with power, fame and, of course, more food. But Jesus resisted. What an example!
I have resisted temptation for 40 minutes, when a plate of cookies might be staring at me. Perhaps I've resisted a bit when I know I shouldn't say something out loud.
But forty days?
The book of Hebrews says we haven't resisted temptation to the point of death. Nope. Not even close.
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