My Daily Devotions - Monday, August 11, 2025

the challenges of temptation…

S - Scripture

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

O - Observation

let’s start with the first temptation - turning stones into bread. let’s be real here, if you didn’t eat for 40 days and nights, you would probably be delusional and, when offered something to eat, you likely will pounce on it like fresh meat to a starving lion. without a doubt i would fail this one.

2nd is putting God to the test - jump off where you for sure would die and you will be saved by angels in Heaven. i liken this to my worthless, if/then, prayers - if you do this for me, then i will do that. only when God does something for me will i be obedient.

the 3rd is a doozy - riches, power, glory, and all that comes with it, if you only give up your soul. speaking for myself, i was that atypical young asian kid who was told to focus on and make a lot of money. this was reinforced time after time, parents even judging the kids based on what the other cousins or family members are doing or have obtained. i know that i have thought about this topic quite a bit when i was younger - trading my life to get wealthy.

so what happens when temptation does come: do you give in, do you accept that it was just fate, do you blame the devil or everything and everyone for why it happened or do you take full control of the situation and handle it correctly?

in any given moment, temptation or sin, is fun while you are in it - sometimes it last for a while, other times just very quickly. i won’t lie about it - the thrills you wanted, the feeling or rush you get, the temporary high can be addicting. the problem is it doesn’t stop. it’s the same thing as being on drugs. you keep wanting more, even when you know it’s not good for you. this is a part of my life that i know from first-hand experience.

from the national institutes of health, national institute on drug use:

pleasure or euphoria—the high from drugs—probably involves surges of chemical signaling compounds including the body’s natural opioids (endorphins) and other neurotransmitters in parts of the basal ganglia (the reward circuit). when some drugs are taken, they can cause surges of these neurotransmitters much greater than the smaller bursts naturally produced in association with healthy rewards like eating, hearing or playing music, creative pursuits, or social interaction.

The feeling of pleasure is how a healthy brain identifies and reinforces beneficial behaviors, such as eating, socializing, and sex. Our brains are wired to increase the odds that we will repeat pleasurable activities. The neurotransmitter dopamine is central to this. Whenever the reward circuit is activated by a healthy, pleasurable experience, a burst of dopamine signals that something important is happening that needs to be remembered. This dopamine signal causes changes in neural connectivity that make it easier to repeat the activity again and again without thinking about it, leading to the formation of habits.

Just as drugs produce intense euphoria, they also produce much larger surges of dopamine, powerfully reinforcing the connection between consumption of the drug, the resulting pleasure, and all the external cues linked to the experience. Large surges of dopamine “teach” the brain to seek drugs at the expense of other, healthier goals and activities. (how do drugs produce pleasure)

A - Application

we serve a God that knows our trials, our pains, the very temptations we deal with; Jesus went through it all. how incredible to know that The Lord, Our Savior knows how we feel and think when that happens and, since He overcame every temptation that the devil threw at him, we, too, can be delivered from the battle and war that is sin and death. this is The Gospel, the great news we can share with people.

the great thing about whatever we are going through or facing with temptation is that God has already provided a way out: 1 Corinthians 10:13, James 4:7

P - Prayer

Father God, we thank you for always providing a way out when we get ourselves in trouble and in over our heads. while temptations exists, and it is a way for us to be distracted and pulled away from you, we speak over them in the Name of Jesus that it has no control over us. our minds and bodies are free from your blood that covers us. in your mighty and powerful name we pray, amen!