Satan tempts us when we are vulnerable. He is like a master fisherman who knows when to dangle the bait. He wants to lure us into sin. Even success can make us vulnerable to sin. Successful mountain climbers tell us that the most dangerous part of their journey is going down the mountain after reaching the peak. In success, we enter a stage of vulnerability.
Adam and Eve were new to life and the Garden of Eden when the serpent entered their lives. The serpent did not wait until Adam and Eve matured in their faith and relationship with God before finding their weaknesses. Our enemy does the same in our life.
Although the Lord told Adam specifically not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He and Eve decided to spend time looking at it. The first part of temptation often occurs when we place ourselves where we should not be.
The Serpent Uses the Lure of Doubt
Early on, the serpent determined that doubt would be the lure he would dangle before Eve. Genesis 3:1One day, he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”[1]
Doubt and the desire to be like God were so enticing Eve disobeyed what God had said about not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was next to her but didn’t stop her and also ate. When God asked her why she ate the forbidden fruit of the tree, Eve said, “I was deceived.” The lure of sin is always deceptive.
Satan Tempted Jesus in the Wilderness
Satan did not tempt Jesus inside the temple or at His baptism, but in the desert where He was alone, hungry, and vulnerable. Matthew 4:2 For forty days and forty nights, he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time, the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” [2]
As children of God, we can guard against attacks by the enemy when we start the day with prayer, spend time in God’s word, and depend on the Holy Spirit to keep us from spiritual danger. Jesus won the battle of temptation and defeated satan in other battles, with His final victory taking place on the cross. With God’s help, we can also overcome temptation.
To learn how satan tempts us when we are vulnerable, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/jesus-is-tempted
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ge 3:1–5). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mt 4:2–3). Tyndale House Publishers.