Don’t Doubt In The Dark
UPSIDE DOWN
Don’t Doubt In The Dark
One of my most embarrassing moments in life is when I was leading a group of 200 high school students and leaders at a camp called Super Summer in Texas. We were in an auditorium about to watch a video. I turned off the lights backstage and began to walk down the stair on the front of the stage when…SPLAT! I missed the stairs and walked right off the stage and hit the hard tile 2-3 feet below. After everyone caught their breath, they bust out laughing. I lost my way in the dark.
What I could see in the light (the stairs) I could not see in the night.
Pray: God, help me to hear what you have for me as I spend time with You.
Grab your Bible: Read Luke 4:1-13.
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.
3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
Jesus was tempted by the Devil face-to-face. It would be an incredible sight to see Dark versus Light play out right in front of us. Jesus, fully God, yet in human form had been fasting without food for 40 days. WOW! Some of us can’t go 40 minutes without food. The Bible then makes one of those DUH statements…”he became very hungry.”
Do you know when I am a good dieter? When I am stuffed with food. Do you know when I am a terrible dieter? When I haven’t eaten in a while and my stomach is rumbling.
Jesus was hungry! And that is when Satan tempted him with food.
A statement we will build on but is great to remember…
Never doubt in the night what God has said in the light.
What that means is God speaks though His word, the Bible. We can trust His word during the good times and the bad times. We can trust God’s word when we are in tough circumstances and in good ones. Circumstances sometimes try to get us to change our minds. But at that moment, TRUST God’s word. It is ALWAYS true.
Prayer: God, I can lose my way in the night time. Circumstances can seem dark and overwhelming. But even then God, help me to trust in Your Word. I know I can trust You.