Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to Him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if You worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”
– Luke 4:4-8
Devotional
The devil pulls out all the stops on this last one! Now we see the heart of the tempter. He wants to be worshipped as God. He challenges Jesus to take the easier way-to avoid hardship! Worship me and it is all yours! Instead Jesus models struggle, anguish and utter dependence on the Father. Jesus rejects the easy way! Jesus holds true to the truth of God’s Word and resists taking the easy way out. He chooses obedience over compromise. In Matthew the 7th chapter, Jesus warned, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
The Big Question
It is human nature to want to avoid hardship and struggles. Yet it is in the fire of adversity that our faith is tested and strengthened. Have you ever been tempted to take the easy way? Are you facing something right now where you have a choice to take the easy way out? Which temptations do you most relate to? What do you need to do?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence reflecting on what God revealed to you today.