Satan Desires to Get You Alone

You Can Listen to The Audio Version Here

When life gets wearisome some wisely seek solitude. That’s good. But when circumstances wear you down you can also become isolated. That’s not good.

Difficult circumstances should drive us to God. But when they’re driving you away you need a strategy because Satan seeks to get you alone. That’s never a good thing.

Satan is an opportunist who shows up when we’re weak.

It is in these moments it is easy to give in to wrong and destructive choices. I know, you know, and Satan knows. Yet Jesus also knows about temptation and how to not succumb (1 Cor. 10:12-13).

I’m going to show you three places I am regularly and relentlessly tempted when I’m right where Satan wants me - weary, isolated, and feeling alone. You will be too (From Luke 4:1-13).

1. Provision. The Snare of Self-Sufficiency (1-3).

• The temptation to question God’s provision for your legitimate needs when “starved” and seek unhealthy or unholy ways to meet them.

• We prevail by resisting the urge to give in to desires that make God seem unreliable and remember that His tests teach us to trust what He says (v. 4, Deut. 8:1-4, Mt. 6:31-34).

2. Power. The Snare of Self-Anointing (5-7).

• The temptation to be controlling, forfeit integrity to gain influence, or make self-willed choices contrary to Scripture. We desire to be our own authority and admired.

• Satan desires worship. He gets it when we give control (bow down) to anything or anyone but God. We prevail by making Jesus our sole object of worship (v. 8, Deut. 6:4-14, 2 Cor. 10:3-6).

3. Protection. The Snare of Self-Preservation (9-11).

• The temptation to prove whether God cares because we’re unsure that He does. We find ourselves in dangerous places when we don’t believe God can be trusted to protect us.

• One of the greatest tests of our relationship with God is how we behave when it feels like God isn’t caring well for us (v. 12, Isa. 43:1-5a, Heb. 13:5-6).

Look again at Luke 4:13. Satan tempted Jesus three times with a conditional “if”. He does the same with us. And he’s relentless. When he finds you alone or isolated you need a strategy.

When tempted to negotiate your belief in God’s provision, power, and protection for some perceived benefit of self-sufficiency, self-anointing, or self-preservation do what Jesus did.

God’s word is Jesus’ life. Each time He was tempted He turned to Scripture. Friend, if you don’t spend time with God’s word you won’t stand a chance when temptation finds you alone.

Would you commit right now to 15-30 minutes less time on the internet to read God’s word more?