Temptation: Jump!

The second temptation that Satan majored in when he tempted Jesus was daring Jesus to jump from the top of the temple. Satan even quoted scripture to convince Jesus. Satan claimed that whatever Jesus do in this life, God will have to save Jesus, because Jesus was loved by God and is special in His eyes.

The temptation is essentially a temptation to presume on God. It is twisting the arm of God so that God would be forced to do something. If Jesus did jump, the Father would have to save Jesus. It has taken that long for God to bring Jesus in that moment in time. And  the Father would not allow anything bad to happen to Him. Jesus safety is an utmost priority.

This temptation is acting irresponsibly (most of the time in the guise of faith) then expecting God to breakthough and perform feats of salvation. Many of us are guilty into falling into this subtle trap. We would present God our prayer requests and in 'acts of faith, we become answers to our prayer even though it may defy logic, wisdom and even the very principles of God found in His Word. And then when we find ourselves caught in the chaos of our foolish decision, we expect no, we even demand God to save us.

Yes God is our Savior and Redeemer. He will never turn back on that role. But also remember, God is God, He is our King and our Sovereign. We don't play with God. We don't stiff arm God to do our will nor do we act as if God is our genie in a bottle who will obey our every command and longing. We don't rashly act upon things 'in faith' nor 'visions' because is God. We should be the ones to obey, to abide, to submit. We should never presume, that because it is a good idea, God is already backing us up. It should terrify us that we might be holding on to our ideas and implementing them in the name of God. God has given us His Word and the Holy Spirit to teach us and remind us of His promises and principles. Let them be the guide.