THURSDAY

SCRIPTURE - Matthew 3:13-4:4

When was the last time you experienced a craving? Knowing what we are hungry for can be valuable information, and it often gives us insights into where our growing edges are. Hunger can be a good reporter, but it is not always a reliable guide. While being in touch with what our appetites tell us can be helpful, those same longings can sometimes be misdirected in ways that undermine the things that matter most. Today’s passage describes two richly significant moments in the life of Jesus. The first is Jesus’ baptism, when he receives the affirmation that he is God’s beloved Son and that God is pleased with him. The second, when he is tempted to doubt what God has said. Instead of trusting God’s word, Satan suggests that Jesus should prove his standing by breaking his fast and turning stones into bread. Jesus does not allow himself to be baited and responds by asserting that there is more to life than just bread. More important, and ultimately more satisfying on deeper levels, is trusting what God has already told us is true and resting in that assurance. That satisfies in a way that physical bread alone simply cannot. There’s nothing wrong with bread when we’re hungry, but we need to know that the deeper hunger that Satan was trying to manipulate would not ultimately be satisfied by anything we feel compelled to do to prove who we are. Rather, it is satisfied when we listen to who God proclaims us to be. As you sit thoughtfully with today’s passage, consider the following:

• To what extent do you live in the awareness of what God says about you— that you are God’s beloved child, and with you God is well pleased?

• What are the circumstances in which you are most likely to doubt this?

• What kinds of things do you find yourself being tempted to do in order to somehow try to reassure yourself of what God has already said?

• What kinds of things are helpful in reminding you of what God has said when you are tempted to doubt that it really applies to you?

• As you reflect on this passage, what part(s) of it do you find yourself resonating with the most? Explain.

Take a few moments to share with God in prayer what is on your heart as you reflect on what you are noticing in this passage of Scripture.