Hungry for control
Jesus was tempted in the desert by Satan, as recounted in Matthew 4:1-11. I too am tempted in the desert by Satan. When the passage says Jesus was hungry, I think “me too.” I’m hungry for belonging, love, and reassurance that everything is going to be okay.
The Judean wilderness lacks consistent water and vegetation, making it mostly uninhabitable. (Image by Gidon Pico from Pixabay)
Most of my hunger is of this emotional and relational kind, but the fasting we’re invited into during Lent gets us in touch with the kind of physical hunger Jesus was experiencing, and the hunger of our many neighbors who experience food insecurity. It moves us out of our comfort zone.
Hunger of all kinds is stressful, making us more vulnerable to temptation, as was the case for Jesus in the wilderness. He chose this vulnerability - the Spirit actually led him into the desert and created this stress through forty days of fasting. I think of the many ways we all choose to be stressed and stretched for a greater good, whether it is through educational experiences, cross-cultural interactions, marriage, parenting, vocational commitments, political advocacy, silent prayer/meditation, etc. These stresses, even when they are led by the Spirit and created for good, make us hungry and vulnerable to temptation.
In Jesus’ hungry state, the temptations of Satan became loud and clear - prove your worth, grab what you can, force God’s hand, take control. If you really belong to God (as the “Son of God”), prove it through your own action.
I become tempted by these same things when I am stressed, with an impulse to move the locus of control from God’s hands into mine. Satan claims that this will reduce my hunger & suffering, but it actually increases it. Control and power never satisfy or soothe. It’s the same lie Satan told Eve and Adam in the Garden (Genesis 3:1-7) - be your own god. Take power into your own hands because even if you belong to God, you can’t really rely on him. It’s best to figure out “good and evil” for yourself and go out on your own.
Jesus used the vulnerability of his hunger in the wilderness to reaffirm and practice things truer than his passing stress and discomfort. He answered temptation by living into what it actually meant to be the “Son of God” - full trust and surrender to the goodness of his Father, without any need to prove himself. Full reverence and worship of God, without power plays or games.
He lived into what he would later teach us in the Beatitudes - “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).
Stress and hunger in your life will create vulnerability to temptation, and you will encounter temptation your whole life long. It’s an invitation by the Spirit to get in touch with your true identity as a child of God. Like Jesus, you don’t need to force anything or play games with God so he’ll act on your behalf. You can trust that he will feed you, rescue you, and give you what you need. It will look different than how you think it has to be (as God’s son, Jesus’ mission included rejection, suffering, and death), but your surrender to God’s leading will lead you exactly where you need to go - for Jesus, that was the redemption of the whole world through death and resurrection.
How does the temptation of Christ in the wilderness end? With angels coming and ministering to him. You can trust that those angels are always on hand for you as well as you go through your cycles of vulnerability, temptation, reconnecting with your identity, and engaging with your mission. As a child of God, you will always be cared for, even (perhaps especially) through times of hunger and stress.
As a clinical psychologist, I offer therapy for adults and adolescents at my in-person office in East Grand Rapids, MI, as well as virtually in 43 states (see list here). Specialties include chronic pain and Christian faith integration (both Protestant and Catholic), and I work with many clients experiencing anxiety, depression, and disruptive life events. Schedule a free phone consultation today to see if we might be a good fit for working together!
