Christ’s Victory
Read Luke 4:1-13
“And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season” (v. 13).
We have all been in situations where it seemed like the best thing that could happen is for someone — the troublemaker — to leave. Jesus was there! Of course, Jesus could simply have commanded Satan to leave, but that was not the plan. Instead, the plan was for Jesus to withstand everything Satan could throw at Him until, in the end, Satan left by his own choice. Perhaps to the human side in Jesus, it seemed that Satan would never leave. And it often seems that way to us as well. But Jesus just kept parrying Satan’s thrusts until Satan decided it was no use to try anymore. There is an old adage that “he who turns and runs away, lives to fight another day.” And it is true; some things are just not worth fighting for. But when we are up against Satan, as Jesus was, the best strategy is to keep using the Word of God until Satan realizes that continued fighting is useless. Jesus must have felt relieved when Satan turned and walked away. But He must have also felt grateful that He had learned to trust in His Father’s Word. (Gordon L. Snider)
If we are in Christ, we are always victorious.
