THEME: AN OPPORTUNE TIME

After Jesus was tempted by the devil three times, the scripture said something which I believe we need to ponder on together. The Scripture says: “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13NIV). An opportune time? Did you read that on the last part of the text? In the first place, the devil had the opportunity to tempt our Lord thrice when the Spirit led Him into the wilderness. That was the opportune time that the enemy had to tempt our Lord and when he failed to lure our Lord into sin, he went away but not away forever but rather away for a while until there is an opportune time for another temptation. The devil departed but he was not discouraged but knew and was confident that there is an opportune time somewhere to tempt Christ again.

This is something that I think believers do neglect most often. Overcoming temptation today doesn’t mean that the devil is discouraged but rather, he has strengthened himself for he knows that there will come another opportune time for him to tempt again. I do believe that when the Apostle Paul told the church at Ephesus to redeem the time for the days are evil, he had this in mind. Paul the apostle knew that there is an opportune time that the enemy captures and uses for his own thing. In light of this revelation, I do believe that it calls for vigilance and wisdom if we only wish to please our Lord with our white garment. We can only stay pure if we have it at the back of our mind that the enemy is always seeking for an opportune time to tempt us and bring disgrace and reproach on us. In our victory, the enemy is preparing for an opportune time. Should this not make us vigilant in this time that we are living in this world? I do believe it calls for it.

There are some victories we enjoy and mostly we forget ourselves and by the time we realise, we have already compromised standards. This is why I believe that God wrote the above text in the Holy Writ. The story in that particular chapter would have still made sense without the above text but we find it in there which means that God has a purpose for bringing it. This purpose is what I do believe that it is to call attention that the enemy is always preparing to attack and we shouldn’t think that he lost yesterday, he has been discouraged. No, he is seeking for an opportune time instead. Oh, brothers and sisters, let us ponder carefully on the above text and redeem the time for the enemy goes to and fro seeking for whom he might devour. Do not give the devil an opportune time to lure you. Stay focus and live for Christ.