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Full of the Spirit

“Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days.” Luke 4:1-2a (NLT) 
Full of the Holy Spirit; led by the Spirit. We think that in that state Jesus would be led to preach a great revival—or maybe heal an entire village—or miraculously feed thousands from a few fish and biscuits.
But Jesus full of the Spirit is led by the Spirit to be tempted for forty days by the devil. This perhaps exposes some of our misconceptions about how things work in the world.
We often associate the fullness of the Spirit with a demonstration of God’s power; like healing or evangelism or miracles.
We often associate being led by the Spirit as God taking us to some great assignment—like a divine appointment or even the mission field.
So here are a few observations. Number one, the devil is a formidable enemy. While we should not fear him, we should also not be naive about his power. Secondly, God may fill us with His Spirit in order for us to be able to stand against temptation. Thirdly, God may lead us into the wilderness.
So remember that you need God’s power to resist the devil and to stand against temptation. Remember that God sometimes empowers us not so that we can be God’s man or woman for the hour, but so that we can trek out across the desert of our circumstances, not loosing faith and coming out victorious on the other side.
So when you find yourself spitting sand and feeling the heat of an unmerciful sun, just remember God’s power is available to us even if it just the power to help us hang on and not give up.
-Pastor Dino Griffin