Are you one who just lets your
life take its natural course? Do you tend to say or do whatever pops into your head?
Do you act impulsively? Do you live your life without reference to God’s will
for you?
Jesus had been in the wilderness
40 days. He had not eaten all that time. His human body needed food. Satan was
in the wilderness with Jesus, testing and tempting Him in all kinds of ways
(Luke 4:2). "If Thou be the Son of God," said the tempter,
"command that these stones be made bread" (Matt. 4:3).
Who in the world could ever
imagine there was anything wrong with Jesus providing for His food-starved
body? Besides, the suggested means of provision—turning stones into bread—would
in no way take away from or hurt any other person. So why didn’t Jesus do it?
"He answered and said, It is
written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out
of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Jesus did not turn stones into bread for
one simple reason:His heavenly Father had not instructed Him to do so!
Throughout His 30 plus years on earth, Jesus never once said or did
anything apart from the will of His Father. "I do always those
things that please [the Father]" (John 8:29). "I seek not My own
will, but the will of the Father who has sent Me" (John 5:30). "I
came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who
sent Me" (John 6:38). In other words, Jesus never acted
impulsively!
Jesus spent much time in prayer
(Luke 3:21; 11:1; 22:41,44). For example, He spent all night in prayer—no doubt
learning His Father’s will—just before selecting His 12 disciples (Luke
6:12-16). He never acted without first speaking to His Father.
Christ is our example (John 13:15;
Eph. 5:2,25; Phil. 2:5; 1 Pet. 2:21). The three recorded temptations of Christ
by Satan in the wilderness are examples of ways Satan tempts the followers of
Christ. Satan would love to have every Christian go through each day of his or
her life without ever thinking about the question, "What does my heavenly
Father want me to do?" Satan loves it when God’s children act impulsively
without considering the Lord’s will for them.
What are some areas in which we
act impulsively? As starters, that area in which Jesus was tested by Satan had
to do with food. We may be very religious about giving thanks every time we
eat. But how often do we even think of asking the Lord:(a) whether we
should take a second helping (because there is plenty on the table); (b)
whether we should eat certain things (especially if our doctor has told us not
to); or (c) whether we should buy certain foods when we go grocery shopping?
Secondly, how about our tongues?
Do we think before we speak? Do we pray before we speak? The Scriptures exhort
us, "Let every man be … slow to speak" (Jas. 1:19). Note how the
Bible refers to man’s strong natural tendency to speak impulsively, without
thinking or praying:"The tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly
evil" (Jas. 3:8).
There is a beautiful example in
the Bible of a man who was asked a question by perhaps the most powerful ruler
in the world. In that split-second before he had to answer his sovereign, this
man, Nehemiah, "prayed to the God of heaven" (Neh. 2:4).
Thirdly, how about the things we
allow into our minds through our eyes and ears? How about the ways we spend our
time? Do we commit our eyes, ears, and time to the Lord? If we get into the
habit of honestly seeking the Lord’s will in prayer before turning on the radio
or television or before surfing the Internet, we often will know instinctively
(by the witness of the Holy Spirit through our new, Christ-like nature) that
God does not want us to do it. Perhaps we purposely avoid praying about these
things because we know deep-down what God will say about them.
Before beginning to pray about the
use of our eyes, ears, and time, let us spend time in the presence of the Lord
drawing up a list of needs we see around us:family members who need our
attention; our Bible that needs to be studied; unsaved persons who need the
gospel; shut-ins who would appreciate a visit, letter, or phone call; depressed
people who need encouragement; backsliders who need to be restored to the Lord;
all the people we know who need prayer; property (our own or that of others)
that needs to be maintained or fixed up. This way, when we pray about the use
of our time, the Holy Spirit can easily direct us to attending to the needs
around us.
May the Lord help each of His own
to become more aware of our tendency to act impulsively. And may we follow the
example of Christ our Creator, Pattern, and Redeemer in reminding ourselves and
our tempter, "I must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
God."