February 11th 2016
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
– Matthew 4:1-4
Jesus Temptation in the Wilderness
The world of ultramarathon running leads distance runners often into the wild, where they are pitted against nature and their own hearts, minds and spirits to survive. Survival depends on carefully planned out calorie intake, medical teams, volunteers, unending supplies of water, shelter, friendship, determination and many other things. On-lookers into this world may not understand what drives runners to attempt and even complete these ultra-races that go often hundreds of miles over a few days.
One of the most difficult set of ultras is called the “4 Deserts” where runners attempt to complete 250 kilometers across each of the arguably four greatest deserts on the Earth: the Sahara in Egypt, the Gobi in China, Antarctica, and the Atacama in Chile. Participants face heat, winds and a physically demanding topography comprised of rocks, sands, mountains and valleys they need to traverse.
The spirit of God led Jesus into the desert (Matt 4:2) where he fasted forty days and forty nights and was hungry.
Then Satan came to tempt Jesus:
“Now when the tempter came to Him, He said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” Matt 4:3
Jesus answered:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Matt 4:4
We know that Jesus lived on the Spirit, fed by the Word of God. He faced conditions we can only dream of in terms of hunger, physical pain and loneliness. We do not know where he walked or what he did during those 40 days. Yet, he faced these challenges with the peace of knowing God was with him, feeding him and caring for him.
To finish an ultramarathon especially in the desert, takes much planning and preparation. To survive physically racers need a host of support to fight off the heat, thirst, loneliness and exhaustion. Jesus had nothing but the Spirit to help him survive. We should live this way, taking God’s word as our breath and our food, regardless of our challenge whether it is physical or spiritual. Our appetite for spiritual food only increases the more we take in the Word of God.
Prayer: Jesus, please help us to open our hearts and spirits to the nutrients of your word so that our physical bodies can be sustained and our spirits become closer to you. Then we can face and learn from the challenges you give us.
– Beishline’s