Opportune Time

A very familiar passage of Scripture retelling a time shortly after John baptized Jesus when Jesus entered the wilderness/desert and fasted 40 days, during which time He was tempted by the devil.

Each time Satan tempted Christ, Jesus responded without wavering with the truth of Scripture thwarting Satan’s best efforts. (See Luke 4:3-12).  Finally, “when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.” (vs. 13)

What are the opportune times in your life?  Perhaps there are times in our lives when we sin at the first suggestion of temptation. We don’t even make an effort to overcome or have victory.  Perhaps there are times we put up some resistance, half-hearted at best, and soon our hearts give in to the temptation and we sin.  Perhaps there are times that by faith we mount our best counterattack, and experience the victory won at the cross.

I find that all too often, I fall into the second category.  I offer some resistance to temptation and walk away, but then a few days, hours or even minutes later I have somehow convinced myself that it isn’t really sin, or it is no longer sin, or whatever the ploy of the day is, and I no longer see it as temptation but rather as a choice I am making.  Two areas I experience this most frequently regard food and purchases.

Why am I sharing that?  I believe it illustrates that Satan does not slither off easily. Half-hearted efforts to overcome temptation and to walk in victory still leave the other half of the heart to the cravings of the flesh.  Satan is oh, so patient.  He will wait until an opportune time to draw you away into sin, whether it takes seconds, minutes, weeks or years.  He will wait until an opportune time.

What are opportune times?  Those times we fail to have on our battle armor of faith and truth.  When are your opportune times?

Written By Diane Hunt: Diane Hunt serves on the board of America’s Keswick and provides ministry support from her home in North Carolina. She is also a biblical counselor and women’s event speaker. For more information about having Diane speak at your next event please contact her at dhunt@americaskeswick.org

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Think About This: ” When you realize that God loves you and that He has a plan for your life, you can walk with your head held high—totally confident in who He created you to be.” – Joyce Meyer

The Daily Bible Reading: Genesis 41-45| You can download our 2020 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness ^[a]was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. -Genesis 1:1-2

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.