God in the Wild - Part 4
Join us as we journey with Jesus as He is tested in the wilderness.
Luke 4:9-13
“Since YOU are…”
“Concerning YOU…”
“Guard YOU…”
“Bear YOU up…”
The priority of the Self. This is the last challenge Jesus faces in this account of the temptations recorded by Luke. In our culture today, we hear a myriad of voices telling us how we ought to take care of ourselves and, oftentimes, this comes with the promise of some benefit on the other side. Opposite this, Jesus demonstrates for us a way of caring for the “self” by entrusting our identities and self-care to the God who truly knows us. His argument to the Devil is that God alone is the one who is in control and therefore, out of an abundance of trust, I do not need to worry about such trivial things. What this means for us is that no matter where we are in life— whether we think we are on the path to success because things are going well for us or if we think we have made a wrong turn because things are going poorly— God is faithful to keep us on the path that he has created for us. In this sense, all of us who entrust our lives to Jesus are being held up and guarded in our journeys regardless of what our circumstances might be telling us.
Study Questions:
What messages have you noticed in the culture around us that has informed your view of how to prioritize the “self”?
What challenges do you face in trusting God with your “self”?
In what ways is God reshaping how you see the “wilderness” you find yourself in? Is it still a mistake or is it simply part of the “journey”?
In what ways is God calling you to let go of control over your “self” and to trust him more?
“For someone who holds the fabric of the universe together by his word, Jesus is woefully overqualified for what I want him for in my life.”
