shani4jc

“When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him until an opportune time.” Luke 4:13

The verse above is in reference to the time Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert. I can’t imagine how many times I’ve read this verse before, but I confess I must have just skimmed over it because when I read it the other day, I was struck by two things that I haven’t paid much attention to before.  First, notice that it says that the devil didn’t leave Jesus until he “finished ALL this tempting” (emphasis mine).  He didn’t leave one moment before he was finished!  The second thing that jumped out at me was that when he did leave, he only left “until an opportune time”.   I think we mistakenly believe that if we endure one temptation from him, we send him running away with his tail tucked between his legs in defeat.  However, when the devil tempted Jesus, he hit him three times in a row according to Scripture.  If he went after Jesus multiple times in a row, what makes us think he won’t bombard us all at once?  Also, the Scripture above indicates that he only left until a better time arose to tempt Him again.  Here’s our second mistake…once we go through a period of temptation and come out on the other side, we often put our guard down and do not stay on the offensive for another attack. We think we’re victorious and that he’s not coming back, but the moment we relax, we often find that he is lurking right in the shadows ready to pounce.  I think a lot of times we forget that the devil is wicked, evil, and ruthless. He hates us and will do whatever necessary to destroy us.  We must be wise where he is concerned.  If he would attempt to tempt the Son of God, we would be foolish to think he will not do the same to us.   Prepare for battle…the attack is coming!