“…my soul gives credit to God alone, for God is the source of my anchored optimism.” Psalm 35:9 BLT [Bud Lamb Translation]
I often underestimate what Jesus faced in the wilderness of Luke chapter 4. Jesus experienced 40 days of starvation and dehydration before He faced off with satan. Certainly, Jesus is/was fully God – but/and fully human.
His humanity must have crippled Him with a limp or crawl through those final days when the liar satan attempted to entice Him with an easy way out.
I used to think Jesus rebuked satan with a thundering voice but I’ve changed my thinking. Emaciated with hunger and thirst, through parched lips, skin dry as a bone and His head baked to near hallucination I can imagine the best Jesus could do was a whisper.
So too with my wilderness journey – every day my heart is assaulted with lies and offers of an easy way out.
I would like to see myself as powerful in my faith, thunderous in my rebuke.
The truth is I am weak, wavering in my faith, and the best I can do is whisper “I rebuke you in Jesus name! Jesus have mercy on me!”
And with this whisper of a holy rebuke my soul gives credit to God alone, for God is the source of my anchored optimism.
Grow an intimate moment-to-moment reliance and awareness that you are not alone, God is always near, He will help with just a whisper.
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Prayer
Oh God, my help in time of need, help me not be surprised if later today the perfect storm presents itself. That I would be alert to lies and rebuke the enemy with a whisper calling out Jesus have mercy on me!
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