The decisions we make are reflections of who we are. Whether we say sorry or not, it shows our pride. Whether we forgive or not, it shows our capacity to love. Everyday, we make decisions and each of these decisions contributes in building our identity. In some decisions, we are given time to think it through. But in moments of temptations, we know that our decisions cannot take long. It is in these immediate moments, that our decisions no longer just reflect ourselves- but reveal ourselves.

Temptations are tough. But being able to move past a temptation can make us tough. It strengthens our will, it strengthens our spirit. In today’s gospel, we heard about Jesus’ forty days in the desert before He started His public ministry. He was tempted three times by the devil and three times He resisted the tests of the devil. But how did He do it? At Luke 4:1 it said, “Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from Jordan and was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert …” Because Jesus had allowed the Holy Spirit from the beginning to fill Him and takeover Him, he was able to see through the lies of the devil. He remained strong and fought through every temptation, with the word of God as His sword. In the temptations, He revealed himself as fully committed to dying for us on the cross. What about us? What do temptations reveal about us? Does it reveal hypocrisy, or does it reveal faithfulness?

When we decide to follow Jesus, there should be no turning back. We cannot be “taking breaks” from being holy as if holiness is only meant to happen whenever and wherever it is convenient for us. Pass every test even though no one is watching. Let us constantly undergo repentance whenever we have sinned because the Lord has seen what happened. Following the example of Jesus, let us allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and make the word of God our stronghold. The Lord would not test His own creation. Therefore, every temptation came from the evil one. Cliche’ as it may sound, but everything truly happens for a reason. The Lord only allows temptations to happen because He wants to purify us. So brothers and sisters, let us strive hard to come out as gold that we are in every testing and temptation.

                                            – – Blessy

Source: Neo Jeremiah Voice of the Young Prophet Newsletter – March 10, 2019 issue.