Our Weapon Of Choice - Jesus Christ

The devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:3-4

Military strategists know that knowledge is one of the most devastating weapons a field commander can have. A strong knowledge of the enemy’s weapons, strategies, tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses can mean the difference between success and failure on the battlefield.

The devil knows a lot about effective spiritual battle—especially about our weaknesses and faults—and he loves to use his diabolical knowledge to harass us, lie to us, and tempt us. Since he’s been doing this for thousands of years, he has developed his skills into a real art form—twisted, evil, and devastatingly effective.

How can we fight the tactics of such a formidable enemy? Jesus Christ, the man who faced the worst temptation the devil had to offer and came out completely unscathed, gives us the perfect example.

Matthew 4:1-11 tells how Jesus left the scene of his baptism and headed straight into the wilderness, where he spent forty days fasting and praying. There he faced some very real temptations from his very real enemy.

Right off the bat, the devil pounced on Jesus’ most immediate weakness: hunger. You’d be hungry, too, after fasting for forty days! Satan wanted to derail the divine plan that Jesus had freely chosen to follow, so he offered up this little suggestion: “If you’re really the Son of God, turn these rocks into bread.”

Jesus recognized the devil’s tactics. Though Satan had unleashed his weapon of choice, Jesus had one that was far more effective and more devastating: the Word of God. The battle ended before it began because the devil has no counterattack strong enough to overcome the man who uses God’s Word as his weapon of choice.

The devil can tempt you, lie to you, and try to deceive you, but when you use the Word of God as your weapon of choice, he can never defeat you.