Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. – Matthew 4:1-4
What a comfort to know Jesus understands how we feel and what we are going through! He was tempted by the devil and He felt the pain and hunger of fasting. Yet, unlike us, Jesus never sinned. He handled every situation, temptation and struggle perfectly. We can learn so much from His example. What did Jesus do when he had big life events and changes? He fasted! What did He do when he felt the pain and hunger of doing so? And what did He do when He was tempted by the enemy? He combated it with the greatest offensive weapon of all time, the Word of God.
The enemy is tricky, he will take a partial truth and twist it, corrupt it, and take it out of context. We need to have our swords sharpened by learning and having the word of God stored up in our hearts so that we can identify when this is happening. Jesus combated him with the Word of God, pure truth. He did it at every temptation and in the end, the devil fled.
Ephesians 6:17-18 tells us “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”
We see here that the sword, which is the only offensive weapon listed, is God’s Word. When we combine that with prayer we have access to our God, the all knowing and all powerful one who will instruct and lead us. We also know “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb 4:12) . The Word of God is the greatest weapon of all time. Sadly, for so many, that weapon has gone unused and has become rusty. It is time we polish those swords, pick them up and begin to wield them with power and authority. When we do, we will begin to see victory in our lives. We will see victory over sin, temptation, despair, anxiety, hopelessness, and so much more. Jesus is our example and the Word (Jn 1:1-18). Use Him and use the Word of God to combat the enemy. Use it to revive hope and faith in our hearts and to see us through the storms. Take time to use and learn to wield your greatest weapon. Too often we grab ahold of all the other dull and ineffective tools around us. The enemy loves that and is all too happy to hand them to us. It takes practice and effort to change our habits and what we have become accustomed to relying on.
I am here to tell you it is so worth the effort. I pray as we sharpen our swords and begin to wield them that we see the huge change and impact it will have on our lives. I pray that the Holy Spirit would bring to our remembrance the right word and the right time as we need it. I pray that we will all hear Him more clearly as He stirs His Word up in us and that mountains will be moved and the enemy will flee. I pray that fear would be gone and distractions removed and that we as a body would be trained well in the greatest weapon of warfare.
Written by Rebecca Murzin
