40: The Temptation of ChristSample

2. Hunger

You will be tempted. You will be tempted to look to yourself for sufficiency and security. You will be tempted to cast away the fatherhood God offers. You will be tempted to choose your own destiny. You will be tempted to replace the sovereignty of God for lesser things. And you will be tempted to self-nourish in a myriad of ways. To be tempted is not to sin. In these passages we clearly see Jesus tempted and He was and remains without sin. 

The Broadway musical, Hadestown, is about a girl who is far too familiar with the ways of the world that falls in love with a boy with a gift for seeing the beauty that could be. In this story,  the world of Hadestown is being more or less held back until the boy, Orpheus, completes his song, a song of promise that just needs to be finished. It's an old song, the story reveals to us, and a sad song. Before Orpheus can finish his song, unfortunately, the girl trades her soul for a meal — a temporary solution. She, like many of us, couldn't fight through the hunger to claim the beauty waiting just on the other side of her longing. WIth something greater than life on the line, she gave in to her hunger.

Jesus wasn't without water, but he was without food. Here in the desert he models for us how to trust God as father and how to resist the temptation to put our hope and trust in something, or someone, other than God. You will be tempted by consumption, security, and status just as Jesus was tempted with food amidst his terrible hunger. Here Jesus demonstrates for us what is true sustenance. 

Talk It Over:

1. Describe the sensation of hunger? What is the difference between "hunger" and "appetite"?

2. Some hunger is deeper and more profound than other hunger. In what ways do you satisfy your longings with temporary fixes? 

3. What are practices that can help you withstand momentary hunger for the deeper satisfaction that God has in store for you?