Instagram Jesus Week 4: Devotional Day 6
DAY 6 – Saturday
Daily devotional
Read
Mark 1:13a
Ask
Challenge yourself to take an honest look at what tempts you. When you experience temptation do you lean into the support of others or hide?
Reflect
Whenever Megan asks me to do the grocery shopping, she knows to expect one or two extra things in the bags. I consider it my reward for being a good husband. In fact, one of my favorite past times is perusing the snacks aisle and finding the most offbeat flavor to try. Yes, I am a junk food connoisseur. The other week, I came home with a bag of “Chirps;” chips made from cricket protein. I was delighted, Megan was not.
I don’t take it for granted that I’m able to drop by the store and pick out a random junk food. There was a time in our lives where that was not the case, and everything that went into the cart was carefully priced. I may have been tempted to indulge in some junk food, but I couldn’t afford to. I’ve been reflecting on this lately, realizing how indulgent my life, and indeed our culture, can be.
Which is why temptation can be an alien concept to us Americans. The American Dream has become more or less to indulge in whatever we want. Self-restraint and discipline have become more and more strange (except when it comes in the service of your own fulfillment, as in exercise).
Part of why Jesus went into the wilderness to fast was to be reminded, especially at the beginning of his ministry, that he was dependent on the Father and the Spirit. It’s telling that Satan’s aim in temptation, as made clear in the parallel Gospel passages in Matthew and Luke, was to get Jesus to go solo, or worse, to count on Satan for what he needed. Temptation, ultimately, is about the things that take us away from God.
Today, reflect on your lifestyle. How often do you decide not to indulge, to remind yourself of your need for God? Consider planning a day of fasting. Maybe it’s not checking your phone for a day. Maybe it’s not eating snacks for a time, or maybe it’s a traditional fast of food. Practice resisting temptation by pursuing this kind of discipline.