The Pursuit - 12 Weeksنموونە

Immediately after Jesus was baptized in Matthew 3, something surprising happened: he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). Isn’t that interesting? Baptism was not followed by comfort and ease, but by testing.

This teaches us something vital: baptism doesn’t remove you from spiritual battles — it prepares you for them. By stepping into baptism, you’re declaring allegiance to Jesus, and that puts you on the enemy’s radar. But you’re not defenseless. Just as Jesus resisted temptation by standing on God’s Word, you too can face trials with confidence because God’s Spirit is with you.

So don’t be surprised if life gets harder after you take this step of obedience. Sometimes the testing comes immediately. Sometimes it comes gradually. But either way, baptism reminds you that you are not fighting alone. You are standing in the footsteps of Jesus, who was victorious over every temptation.

And just like Jesus’ wilderness experience prepared him for ministry, your testing after baptism can strengthen you for a lifetime of faithfulness.

Reflection:

How does knowing that testing may follow baptism prepare you to rely more fully on God’s Spirit and Word?