Bottom Line: We are tempted to believe we know how God works and how we think we can work Him.

In the boxing world, sometimes things aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes the winner is known before anyone walks into the ring. Sometimes the outcome is pre-determined by a person who has manipulated things behind the scene. Sometimes a fighter takes a dive. Sometimes a boxer throws the fight. And if each one of us were completely honest, sometimes we try to work things as well in our fight with temptation. And who or what we are manipulating isn’t the temptation, it’s God.

Scripture References: Matthew 4:5-7; Psalm 91:12; Exodus 17:2-3

Question for the week: Are you cooperating with God or are you manipulating him?

Bottom Line: Every time you’re tempted, your confidence in God is at stake, not just your self-control.

When facing temptation, it seems like it’s always about the choice, the decision, the temptation. But it’s always about more than that. It’s not just your reputation or your innocence that’s at stake—it’s your confidence in God. The lure of temptation makes us question whether we can really trust God to come through for us, to be there for us, to provide for us. We begin to think He’s not in our corner, that He’s not looking out for us. But what if we began to see Him there? What if we realized that whatever is luring us away really has nothing to do with what we think it’s about, and there’s a deeper issue, a trust issue, at work? It might completely weaken the pull of that temptation, and it might help us get to the heart of what is really going on.

Scripture References: Matthew 4:1-4; Deuteronomy 8:3, 11-14,17

When you stop trusting, you stop obeying. And when you stop obeying, eventually you stop believing.

In the sport of boxing, the main event is the big fight, the moment where everything is on the line. But for most of us, we are oblivious to the truth that in every temptation we face, there’s a lot at stake as well. When face to face with temptation, the choice feels insignificant sometimes. There are times when it feels like no one will notice, or it’s not really a big deal. But in looking at the temptations Jesus faced, we realize just how much is at stake—not only in His life, with the temptations that were before Him—but in our lives as well, with the ones we face every day.

Bottom Line: In every single temptation you face, there is always more at risk than you think.

THE BATTLE WITHIN

Each one of us faces a battle within, a battle that may go unseen by those around, but inside there is major brawl. It’s a battle with temptation. And depending on the temptation and its hold on your life, it may be a battle that seems impossible to win. In this series, We will take a look at the temptations Jesus faced in the desert, and identifies the driving forces behind the temptations we all face every day. Because once you realize what the pull is behind the temptation, you can find the confidence to follow Jesus’ example and respond as He did.

We have an Enemy whose goal is to destroy our trust in God.

Most of us can recall a time when the Enemy’s voice lured us into a temptation that appeared too good to resist. On the other side, we see the error of our ways, but at the time, the whispers seemed impossible to ignore. The lies and the deception we are so quick to believe often have to do with the character of God. Is He holding out on me? Does He want me to be miserable? Are all of these rules keeping me from being truly happy? And the Enemy steadily and stealthily whispers, “Yes.” Our battle with the Enemy comes down to this one thing—whose voice do we trust? Are we willing to surrender a sense of wonder in our big God for the voice of empty promises coming from the one who is set on our destruction? In our own lives, whose voice do we allow to get the last word?