In your past readings of the Gospels have you ever stopped to notice that the very first thing Jesus did after His baptism and anointing was to face the devil in head-to-head combat?

Jesus didn’t warm up first. He didn’t select His disciples, preach a sermon, or practice His Son-of-God-fighting-skills on a few minor demons first—He went straight at Satan from the opening bell. As soon as He was given a green light to begin His ministry, Jesus attacked the strongman, successfully rebutting every temptation that Satan could throw at Him, and then, after parrying Satan’s best jabs, He demanded, “Away from me, Satan!” The Scripture then gives us a five-word outcome: “Then the devil left him.”

Are you engaged in any spiritual battles today? Are you sensing the oppression of any sinister spiritual force? Are you embroiled in any negative conflicts that seem to be winning the day, or do you feel hungry, lonely, or tempted to give into sin? Jesus showed us how to face those things. He modeled the truth that: Satanic activity flees in the face of Scripture-soaked, Christ-oriented resistance.

Where do you need to mount a resistance? Where do you need to make your epic stand?

Sometimes the big issues in our lives feel so overwhelming that they almost paralyze us. Sometimes it’s easier to procrastinate or rearrange our desks instead of diving headlong into our most necessary work. I love the fact that Jesus didn’t shrink from His toughest battle, but rather He ran straight toward it. That’s a hero worth following. That’s a king worth submitting to. And it makes me love Him even more.

The Scripture clearly tells us that the prayers of a righteous person are “powerful and effective” (James 5:16). Let’s stay engaged in prayer, let’s hold tightly onto our hope, and let’s follow Jesus’ lead into every area of our lives.