The Spirit led where shadows reign,
A forty-day and forty-night,
Through hunger’s grip and silence plain,
The Son prepared for coming fight.
No bread to break, no stream to sip,
Yet in His soul, a wellspring grew,
The tempter watched with eager lip,
A clash of wills the desert knew.
Beneath the sun’s unyielding glare,
The desert stretched, a barren sea,
A voice arose, with cunning air,
To bend the knee of Galilee.
“Bow down,” it hissed, “and kingdoms rise,
All splendor yours, beneath my sway.”
Yet from the dust, a truth replies,
A steadfast heart turns night to day.
“Away!” He cried, the tempter’s chain
Snapped sharp by will unshaken still,
The sand bore witness to disdain,
A soul aligned with heaven’s will.
“For it is written,” bold and clear,
A blade of words, from ancients drawn,
No shadow’s bribe, no whispered fear,
Could dim the light of God’s own dawn.
Within His breast, the Scripture burned,
A fire no wilderness could tame,
Each promise kept, each lesson learned,
A shield to guard the holy name.
Deuteronomy, a voice of old,
Spoke through His lips, unyielding, true,
No power of earth, no thief so bold,
Could sway the One whom angels knew.
“Worship the Lord,” the echo rings,
Through stone and sky, a sacred call,
No earthly crown, no gilded things,
Can claim the soul that knows it all.
“And Him alone,” the vow takes flight,
A banner raised on wilderness ground,
Service pure, in holy sight,
Where faith and strength are truly found.
Beyond the dunes, a war unseen,
The heavens watched, the earth stood still,
A victory carved in dust serene,
The serpent bruised by steadfast will.
The prince of air, with pride undone,
Retreated from the Word’s command,
A triumph not for One alone,
But hope for every trembling hand.
The wind grew still, the voice withdrew,
Defeated by the Word’s decree,
A moment vast, yet simple too—
The Son stood firm, and so must we.
In Matthew’s tale, the fourth unfolds,
A stand against the fleeting lie,
Ten words that time forever holds:
To God alone, our hearts comply.
O child of dust, take up the cry,
When shadows bid your spirit bend,
The wilderness is ever nigh,
Temptation’s voice will never end.
Yet in the Book, a stronghold stands,
A truth to wield, a song to sing,
Lift high the Lord with heart and hands,
And serve alone the eternal King.