Luke 4:5-8  So he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, “I will give you their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If you, then, will worship me, all will be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”” (CSB)

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The temptation is to make God our servant. We want to wield Jesus like a scepter or magic wand. We want the Holy Spirit to do our bidding, to complete our commands. 

We want God to do for us what we want done. This is a not-subtle-at-all reversal of what Jesus taught us to pray:

Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
(Matthew 6:9:10)

The temptation is to think we have a better idea than God, to consider our plan superior to his, to follow our own path to our own ends confident that it leads to a better place and superior results. 

This was the temptation in Eden. It was the temptation in the wilderness. It is the temptation you will ponder today. I say You because I am above this sort of thing now.

Right.

We are all tempted in the same three ways Adam and Eve were in Eden and Jesus was in the wilderness. Ambition, Appetite, and Approval lure us, entice us, and make promises they cannot keep. 

How can we overcome these temptations? Knowing the truth about God’s plan and purpose is a good place to start. Jesus provided God’s answer for each temptation. 

Knowing the truth about ourselves in relationship to God is a good next step. God loves us as we are and as we will be by his grace and in his mercy. God is our provider, and we do not have to worry about the things he gives so generously. God’s purpose for our lives is better than any dream or fantasy we could conceive. 

The tests will come today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life. The passing grades and the liberated living flow from knowing God’s truth, God’s path, and God’s purpose. This is how to live a life better than you dreamed possible. 

We don’t wield God. God takes hold of willing and obedient hearts and uses them to free others from the grip of temptation that always leads away from where they really want to go. He uses us to empower freedom for all. That’s what Jesus said in his early sermon at his home synagogue. 

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, 
because he has anointed me 
to preach good news to the poor. 
He has sent me 
to proclaim release to the captives 
and recovery of sight to the blind, 
to set free the oppressed, 
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
‭‭(Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Release, recovery, and freedom are available to each of us today when we stop trying to impress others with our beauty and power, when we stop trying to win their admiration, and when we cease striving to do for ourselves what God has already done for us. 

One of Max Lucado’s book titles helps us entitle the reality of living life free from these core temptations. It’s called In the Grip of Grace. 

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I will live in the grip of God’s grace.

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Our Father, thank you that as I live in the grip of your grace, I have nothing left to prove. You love me as I am and as I will be by your grace and for your purpose. Reorient my thinking and deciding away from these temptations into the blessed estate of a full and meaningful life. Amen.