Formed by the Wind: Choosing Your True NorthSample

The third temptation Jesus faced was to be powerful.

Satan tempted Jesus to get power without the cross. It was as if he said, “Just bow before me and save the pain. The agony. The exposure.” If Jesus had compromised, he could have gained control instead of surrendering to His Father in the garden.

We love being in control. As Henri Nouwen has observed, “If I'm being honest, I find it easier to control God than to love God, to control people than to love them, to control life than to receive it.” Nouwen also noted, "The temptation to power is greatest when intimacy is perceived as a threat."

Have you heard of "Impostor Syndrome"? It's that feeling that you don't belong where you are. Imposter Syndrome says you're faking it, and someday everyone will figure out you don't have it all together. We try to control the perception of others instead of trusting God and being vulnerable.

When adversity strikes, our instinct is to seize control. We make detailed plans. We manipulate circumstances. We refuse to accept help because it makes us feel vulnerable.

When I went through burnout at age 28, I had to make a choice: Would I keep struggling for control, or would I surrender to God and accept my limitations? Would I allow others to see my weakness, or would I keep trying to project strength?

The path to healing began when I chose vulnerability over the illusion of control. When I admitted to a team I was leading that I was not okay and was desperate for God’s help, something beautiful happened. People stepped up. Relationships deepened. And God worked in ways I never would have experienced if I had not let go of my grip on control.

Jesus rejected Satan's offer of power and control because he knew God's path led through surrender, vulnerability, and sacrifice. The way of the cross always looks like weakness to the world, but it's where God's power is perfected.

Jesus teaches that we gain by giving up, living by dying to self, and finding freedom through surrender. As Jesus later told his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Tomorrow, we'll explore the spiritual practices that formed Jesus during his testing and how we can practice them in our own lives. But today, I invite you to consider where you might be grasping for control instead of surrendering to God's path.