For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

I really hate snakes.  They are slimy, disgusting creatures and I can hardly bare to see an image of one without my skin crawling. We have no problem turning and running from anything that freaks us out or is disgusting. What id someone was such a good liar, however, that our place of rescue began to look like the den of snakes, and the snake was twisted to look like salvation?  That is a dangerous situation.

It’s a dangerous situation, and it’s very real. That first section of Matthew 4 is serious business. God came to Earth in human form to understand us, to relate to us, and to truly know us. I know I like to picture the cute cherub baby Jesus and the smiling ‘let the children come to me’ Jesus (you know, like in Ricky Bobby).

Jesus had been fasting for 40 days.  He was starving and worn for all the right reasons, but the Devil saw an opportunity to seize. He does the same things to us.  When we feel broken or tired and God is taking us to that place to teach us and to grow us, instead of us learning, our instinct is to find a way out.

Have you ever been in a terrible situation and though ‘I could just quit’ or ‘I could just move away’? The flight instinct is strong when our backs are against the wall and the problem is too big for us.

Satan knows it, and he uses it.  In Matthew 4, he takes Jesus to every temptation affecting Jesus.  ‘Prove you are God.  Prove you can do anything.  Relieve your plight.Return to your rightful seat on your throne.’ He does the same to us. ‘Walk away from your husband. Get another credit card.  Drink until the pain is dulled.’ and in my case, ‘GET THE CHEESEBURGER!’  These battles are real and more than we can bare alone.

We know God walks through temptation with us empathetically, and with the truest form of faith, we can give the situation to Him and trust that things are hard because He is teaching us. Choose today to give it to God.  Allow Him to bear your pain, and save yourself the struggle of doing it alone.