Formed by the Wind: Choosing Your True NorthSample

I want to explore with you three temptations Jesus faced during his time in the wilderness. Each reveals something profound about the trials we face in our lives.

After Jesus had fasted for forty days, Matthew tells us that the tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread" (Matthew 4:3 NIV).

Henri Nouwen states that the first temptation Jesus faced was to be relevant.

"Turn the stones to bread," Satan suggested. Show the world you have something to offer. Do something that proves your worth and value.

Satan tempted Jesus to do something to show the world he was relevant, but at the cost of being disobedient to his Father. We must choose between obedience and popularity—a crossroads of sorts. While these aren't always at odds, we must acknowledge that we can't always have both.

Satan tempts us to put our value and worth into what we can offer the world. Our gifts, talents, abilities—what we can do and produce. We are tempted to prove ourselves to the world through achievement or performance. Someone recently said, "You're only as good as your last performance." How exhausting to prove our worth this way!

Suffering tests us to determine where we're putting our worth and value. When adversity strikes, we quickly discover whether our identity is rooted in what we do or who we are in Christ.

When I face difficult circumstances, I often try to "fix" things by leveraging my strengths. If I'm honest, a voice inside says, "You need to prove you're still valuable, worthy of respect, still relevant." In a similar way, Satan tempted Jesus to use his divine power to prove himself.

But Jesus' response is remarkable. He doesn't argue about whether he could turn stones into bread. Instead, he points to something more fundamental: dependence on God. "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

The answer to the temptation of relevance isn't to try harder to be relevant. Remember that our true worth comes from being children of God, not from what we produce or accomplish.

When adversity strips away our ability to "perform" or "achieve," we're left with a crucial question: Is God's love enough? Can we find our identity in being loved by God rather than being helpful to others?

Tomorrow, we'll explore the second temptation Jesus faced. But today, I invite you to reflect on where you might be trying to prove your relevance instead of resting in God's love and provision.