“What If . . . ?”

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He retaliated against the Devil’s statements with the Word of God.

The Devil said, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread” (Luke 4:3 NLT).

But Jesus answered, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone’” (verse 4 NLT).

Then the Devil said, in effect, “Why don’t you fall down and worship me right now?”

But Jesus told him, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him’” (verse 8 NLT).

Next the Devil tried to lure Jesus into jumping off the highest point of the Temple. He quoted Scripture, which he took out of context: “He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone” (verses 10–11 NLT).

The Devil tried to use this verse to say that Jesus could recklessly test the Lord without consequences. But Jesus brought it back into context, saying, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God’” (verse 12 NLT).

God isn’t saying that we should go out and unnecessarily endanger our lives. What these verses from Psalm 91 are really saying is that God has a work He will do in your life. And until He is done, you are indestructible. On the other hand, you shouldn’t foolishly test the Lord.

We see this illustrated in the story of the apostle Paul when he was shipwrecked. He went to warm himself at the fire, where a venomous snake fastened itself to Paul’s arm. Paul just shook it off. He wasn’t affected by the venom, because God wasn’t done with him yet.

So don’t worry about it. Know that God will be with you until He has completed His work.