Satan is arrogant. He was arrogant to think he could entice the Son of God to sin. Satan waited until Jesus was weak from hunger to tempt Him.
”Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”“ Matthew 4:1-3 NLT
He also spoke to Jesus’ arrogance (if He were) to do things out of the will of God: use His power to turn stones into bread; give Jesus the whole kingdom if He bowed down and worshipped Satan. He was speaking to His flesh, His arrogance.
That is what he did to Adam and Eve (that they would know good and evil like God). That is what he does to us. That is what he does to me. Waiting for the opportunity of weakness to strike.
But Jesus is the opposite of arrogant; He is humble. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve. He wants us to follow the example He sets for us. He knows the Word of God and used it as a weapon against Satan’s attacks.
In the past, when I was having a conversation with someone, I would be thinking of my response or see if there was anything I could say that would add value. I was so intent on my message that I was missing the other person’s message. I really wasn’t listening. I was so focused on me, that I wasn’t of any value to that person, not really.
But the Lord brought me through a time to show me the importance of really listening to people, to see them, to empathize with them. I learned that what Jesus modeled was always about the needs of others.
John 1:1 says that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is the Word. Therefore spending time getting intimately aquatinted with Jesus and His truths (Word) will help us defeat the devil’s attempts to speak to our arrogance to do our own thing.
Even if it seems righteous, but in reality it is only self-righteous. God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. We are to be lead by God’s wisdom, truth, and love. That is a life I want to live.
“Lord, help us come to Your Word for guidance on how to live and how to defeat the devil’s attempt to speak to our weakness and arrogance. Holy Spirit, bring to mind Your Word and help it to light our paths to only follow You. Redeem the times when we stray off the path due to be blinded by our own desires (arrogance). We want to please You. Help us oh Lord! In Jesus name, Amen.”