Scripture of the Day
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet he did not sin.” — Hebrews 4:15
Reflection
Immediately after Jesus was anointed at his baptism, Mark tells us that the very next thing to happen was Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. The anointing did not shield him from testing. It preceded it.
This is important for anyone who has assumed that spiritual depth means freedom from temptation, or that a genuine encounter with God should make the struggles go away. Jesus was anointed by the Spirit and then spent forty days in the wilderness being tested. The power was not given to exempt him from the fight. It was given so that he could win it.
The same is true for us. The anointed life is not a life without wilderness seasons. It is a life with the power to endure and overcome them. And when we face those seasons, we face them with a Savior who has been in the wilderness himself -- who knows what it is to be hungry, isolated, and relentlessly pressed.
He is not a high priest who watches our struggles from a comfortable distance. He has been where we are. And he came through.
Question for Personal Reflection
How does it change your experience of temptation or difficulty to know that Jesus faced it himself, and overcame it by the Spirit's power?
Action Step
The next time you face temptation today, pause and pray: "Jesus, you have been here and you overcame. I am not alone in this."
Prayer
Lord, you faced the wilderness and came through. Walk with us through ours. Let the anointing you carry be the power we draw on when we are tested. Amen.
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