Jan. 5, 2021
After the flood, Noah’s descendants repopulated the earth. Generations reaped the benefits of Noah’s trust in God’s words.
As Noah’s descendants spread across the earth, some of them decided to build a “city and a tower with its top in the heavens.” They wanted to form a strong group of people known for the great things they accomplished.
God wasn’t pleased. They were not relying on God but themselves. So God caused them to speak in different languages and scattered them from that place. They ended up exactly where they didn’t want to be.
“Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.” - Genesis 11:7-8
After 40 days of fasting, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness, where He is tempted by the devil. Satan tries to convince Jesus to provide for Himself, to test God, and to shortcut God’s plan by settling for earthly praise and power.
The devil is crafty in his efforts, twisting Scripture and hitting Jesus where He should have been weakest — while He was hungry and walking around the desert. What Satan didn’t realize is that Jesus hadn’t made it through more than a month of fasting on His own strength.
Fasting removes something from our lives for a specified period, so we can hear God more clearly. In His physical weakness, Jesus was spiritually strong.
Jesus sees through Satan’s schemes because He knows God. He knows God’s Word and His character. Like Noah, Jesus fully trusts God and follows His commands. And when Satan realizes that, he flees.
Make It Personal
- Are you depending on God or yourself to face the challenges you face?
- To whom do you attribute life’s successes?
- Are you modeling and teaching dependence on God to your children and those you mentor?