The Human side of life!

Hebrews 4:15 (NASB)

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  

The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are. I have often wandered how it would be possible to tempt Him if He was God and knew it. I think the knowing it part is the key. When Jesus was tempted by Satan at the start of His ministry, it was His flesh that Satan was appealing to. After not eating or drinking for 40 days I am sure His flesh was pretty weak. But the God side of Jesus would not have even remotely been tempted by what Satan offered. The implication is that Jesus’ voice of the flesh had as much influence and control over Him as it does us. And I believe that was true for Him all the way until the end of the cross.

Everything we do as it relates to God, no matter how strongly believed is still rooted in faith. I am discovering that the closer that I am able to draw near to God the more distinctly it seems I can hear or sense in my inner thoughts and the separation between my flesh and my spirit.

Know one can know for sure the feelings Jesus possessed, nor are we privy to His inner thoughts. But if the implication in Hebrews 4:15 is that Jesus had to face life as we do, then I have to believe that He also heard both the voice of His flesh and the voice of (in His case) God, because His spirit was God. But in order for temptation to have occurred both the voices would have to been divided within Him as they are within us. And the struggle for control would have occurred within Him as it does within us.  I personally believe that even as they were nailing Him to the cross His flesh was screaming in His head… “You crazy fool, your going to die for nothing, NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE”. And just as we have to be obedient to the voice of the Spirit given to us by God in spite of our circumstances, so did He! And regardless of how strongly we/He believe in what we are doing the only evidence that what we are doing is right will still be rooted in Faith. The voice of our flesh will continue to cry out until our body is dead and we are standing in eternity.

I turned 52 last year. In the thirty plus years that I have devoted my life to God I have seen His faithfulness and miraculous intervention into my life so many times and in such magnificent ways that one would think there is never a day of doubt. But you would be wrong! There is doubt every day. And in spite of  the fact that God has never failed or broken His promise to me… not even a little bit, there are times and days when I am still over whelmed by my circumstances. And even though it is not directly stated in the bible that Jesus faced the exact same struggle with His inner voice as I do, I believe He did all the way up to the end.

It gives me comfort to know He did it too. In spite of what we see, just as with Jesus so it is with us… we must decide which voice to serve and which to ignore.